If your teen has an interest in money and banking, this post offers them an opportunity to earn 1 high school credit AND 3 college credits in Money and Banking.
How it works: Missouri State University offers undergraduate college students an opportunity to enroll in this video course. The problem (for our HS4CC community) is that it’s not open to high school students and it costs almost $600! So, since they’ve allowed anyone to access the content for free on youtube, I’ve built an adapted version you can use at home!
This curriculum works well over a full school year, but a highly motivated teen can complete this in 1 semester.
Instead of getting credit from Missouri State, you will award 1 high school credit and your teen will take the DSST Exam option worth 3 potential college credits at their future college. The exam costs only $100 and can be taken at home on your computer.
Curriculum
ECO305 Money and Banking Course from Missouri State University
40 video lectures
This course covers the nature and functions of money. Topics include a survey of the operation and development of the banking system in the U.S. and an introduction to the monetary policy.
Test Prep
I recommend using the official prep content taught by DSST directly for 1 month before taking the test. This is not one of the easy exams! Using their suggested prep resource assures you’re learning exactly what you need for the exam. Don’t subscribe until you’ve finished the curriculum since they charge $30/month, you’ll only want 1 month, 2 at most, so do this last. https://dsstprep.com
DSST Exam
This is the official Money and Banking test file
The exam contains 100 multiple choice questions to be answered in 2 hours.
The Role and Kinds of Money – 5%
Commercial Banks and Other Financial Intermediaries – 28%
Money and Macroeconomic Activity – 19%
Central Banking and the Federal Reserve System – 18%
Monetary Policy in the United States – 20%
The International Monetary System – 10%
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
All test questions are in a multiple-choice format, with one correct answer and three incorrect options. The
following are samples of the types of questions that may appear on the exam.
- A deficit in a country’s balance of payments tends to produce?
a. a fall in the exchange value of that country’s currency
b. a gold flow into that country
c. an increase in the supply of foreign exchange in that country’s market
d. deflation in that country - The major purpose of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is to?
a. absorb any excess profits made by insured banks
b. provide subsidies to weaker banks
c. protect insured banks against loss caused by actual or threatened withdrawals
d. give prior approval to insured banks for any loans of $1 million or more . - Under the National Bank of 1863, the supply of National Bank notes was dependent on which of the
following?
a. decisions of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
b. the market value of certain types of United States government bonds
c. restrictions set by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
d. annual decisions by Congress - Which of the following would be included in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) accounting for the current
period?
a. personal consumption of goods acquired by families in prior periods
b. government purchases of goods and services produced in the current period
c. business investment in financial instruments in the current period
d. personal saving in the current period
Rev 3/2017 - Which of the following is a component of Gross
Private Domestic Investment?
a household savings
b. purchases of certificates of deposits issued by savings and loan associations
c. purchases of new automobiles by families
d. purchases of new equipment by businesses - One advantage of monetary policy over fiscal policy is that monetary policy
a. is more flexible
b. directly influences spending
c. is automatic in operation
d. has no discriminatory effects - Interest rates on long-term Treasury bonds are likely to be higher than on short-term Treasury bills when
a. future short-term interest rates are expected to rise
b. the general level of interest rates is expected to fall
c. the rate of inflation is expected to fall
d. a recession is anticipated - In the United States, the largest commercial banks hold a larger proportion of their assets as primary
reserves than do smaller commercial banks because the largest banks
a. are subject to higher reserve requirements
b. are quasi-public institutions seeking only modest profits
c. have higher capital-to-deposit ratios
d. have more conservative lending policies - When a member country of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) uses the IMF credit facilities, that
country ordinarily does which of the following?
a. makes a long-term loan to the IMF
b. puts in its own currency and takes out the currency desired
c. offers gold to the IMF in exchange for dollars
d. borrows from the Federal Reserve System
Answers to sample questions:
1-A, 2-C, 3-B, 4-B, 5-D, 6-A, 7-A, 8-A, 9-B.
