Teachers often mention how they struggle to explain credit scores and credit reports and how to engage high schoolers in these foreign concepts. I used this bell ringer in class on Friday for our lesson on Credit Reports/Credit Scores and it got class off to a great start.

Why? Well, most of the questions that students came up with matched perfectly with the factors that determine a credit score. This made it much easier for them to grasp why these factors matter. They had to take on the role of a lender trying to figure out whether to lend money to a stranger which is analogous to the reason that we have credit scores today.

Here are some questions that students came up with:

• How much money do you owe other people? (Total Debt)
  • One student mentioned how a classmate in middle school had borrowed money from each of his classmates. She wishes she knew to ask him this question before she lent him money.
• Have you repaid other people that you have borrowed from in the past? (Payment history)
• What do you need the money for?
• How do you plan to pay the money back?
• Are you willing to pay me back plus interest?
• When are you going to pay me back?
• Can we put this agreement in writing (not a bad idea to build commitment)?

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Here is a two-part NGPF activity that is top rated on Google when you search for “engaging credit score activities”:

• Calculate: FICO Credit Scores 
• Calculate: Impact of Credit Scores on Loans 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.