A Required Personal Finance Course

The task

Do you think every high school student should have to pass a course on personal finance, covering topics such as budgeting, credit and taxes, before graduating?

• Decide yes or no and give your opinion.
• Explain your reasons.

Original CELPIP-style practice question, not an official CELPIP test item. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by Paragon Testing Enterprises. The CLB level of each sample answer was reviewed by a TESOL-certified instructor. It is not an official CELPIP score.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking time

90 seconds

Question

3 of 10

Yes, I agree with this idea. When students finish high school, many don't know nothing about money. They get a credit card, they spend, spend, and after one year they have big debt. I saw this with my neighbour's son, he still pay it. The second reason, um, not every parent can teach this. Some parents are busy, or, like my parents, they are new in Canada and the taxes are confusing also for them. So school is the best place, because everybody learn the same thing. Maybe some students think it's boring. But it's important for the life, so my answer is yes.

Why this answer works

• Content/Coherence: two plain reasons; the example ("my neighbour's son") is mentioned but not developed, and the conclusion repeats the answer.
• Vocabulary: basic words; "big debt" and "important for the life" are not natural.
• Listenability: one filler ("um"), a repeated verb for emphasis ("they spend, spend"), a double negative ("don't know nothing") and agreement slips ("he still pay it", "everybody learn").
• Task Fulfillment: answers the question and gives a personal angle about parents.

Yes, I'd make it required. The first reason is that teenagers start making money decisions earlier than we think. When I got my first paycheque at sixteen from a coffee shop, I honestly thought my manager had made a mistake, because I didn't understand the deductions. A course would have explained that in an afternoon. Instead, I had to ask my older sister, and she wasn't sure either. Second, it would help with big decisions right after school, like signing a lease or choosing a student loan, where a mistake can follow you for years. And third, saving is a habit, and habits are easier to build at seventeen than at thirty. Even saving a little each month becomes normal. Some people say the timetable is already too full. That's fair, but I'd rather students graduate knowing how to read a pay stub than memorizing things they'll forget in a month.

Why this answer works

• Content/Coherence: three reasons, one specific example (the first paycheque) and a short reply to an objection.
• Vocabulary: "deductions", "follow you for years" and "pay stub" are precise.
• Listenability: the paycheque story is told in order, and the final sentence balances two halves ("knowing how to read a pay stub than memorizing things") that are easy to hear.
• Task Fulfillment: a clear yes, fully developed within 90 seconds.

I agree with the course, but not with making it a condition of graduating, and that difference matters. My hesitation comes from an objection I think is fair: knowing about money doesn't automatically change how people spend it. I took economics in grade eleven and could explain interest rates perfectly, yet at nineteen I still ran up two thousand dollars on a store card because the monthly payment looked small. So a course isn't a cure. Habits come from experience, and sometimes from mistakes like mine. Where it does help is with the mechanics: how a credit score is built, what's on a tax return, why a minimum payment keeps you in debt. Those are things you can test fairly. They're also things a lot of families never talk about at home, mine included. So I'd make the course mandatory, but assess it with practical tasks, like building a budget or comparing two phone plans, not an exam that could hold back a struggling student.

Why this answer works

• Content/Coherence: separates the two parts of the question, concedes a real weakness with a precise personal example, then qualifies the position.
• Vocabulary: "ran up two thousand dollars", "the mechanics" and "hold back" are precise and idiomatic.
• Listenability: the list after "the mechanics" names three concrete things, and the store-card story is told in a single clear sentence.
• Task Fulfillment: a qualified answer that still responds clearly to the question.