As newly released report from the US. Dept of Ed’s National Center for Education Statistics show high school students have at least a basic understanding of economics. I’m not going to go into what they are testing. A much more interesting result from the study is that student scores from those taking economics classes are not significantly different than scores from students who don’t take any economics courses. As the New York Times reports:

The scores of students who had taken economics courses were not necessarily higher than those who had not. On average, students who had taken Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or an honors course in economics scored marginally higher than students who had taken no economics at all, but students who had taken “consumer economics” or business courses scored lower.

In particular, look at the very last comment. How is it that taking “consumer economics” is a detriment to knowledge of economics? Where, in fact, they are learning economics? Parents? Peers? Keeping copies of the Wall Street Journal under their beds?

Parents are a factor:I’m going to take a wild guess at the other source: social participative media and online networks.

Economics forces are heavily tied to media and the internet. Kids are using online communities to share knowledge of products and companies are targeting the online market heavily. These kids are not just passive audiences. They share and communicate about what would be cool to have, compare products, and what it takes to get there hands on products that are easily out of their economic range. Companies quiz teens about market trends and buying patterns.

They are thinking economics. But no one ever calls it “economics” online or in school hallways. This is authentic learning at its best.