Editor's Note: The following press release is from the SIFMA Foundation.
The results are in! Jess Martin, a student at Greenvale Park Elementary in Northfield, is the first place winner in Minnesota of the SIFMA Foundation’s InvestWrite student essay competition, sponsored by the SIFMA Foundation and SIFMA member firms. Martin claims the top prize in Minnesota’s elementary division for the Fall 2012 competition. Martin participated in The Stock Market Game and submitted this winning essay through Abby Swanson’s class.
As a culminating activity for the country’s 600,000 annual Stock Market Game™ participants, InvestWrite challenges 4th-12th graders to analyze an investment scenario and write an essay offering investment advice. Students consider real-world economic events and trends, conduct research online, develop investment recommendations and, in the process, gain the skills to prepare for their own financial future. Martin is one of 20,000 students each year across the nation who take the InvestWrite challenge.
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Not only is Martin a talented writer and student, but she is also active in Taekwondo, baseball, skateboarding and Lego League. Swanson, Martin’s teacher, enjoys having her in class and says that she works hard and is respectful, honest and always kind.
The Fall 2012 winning InvestWrite essay composed by Martin was chosen through rigorous judging by thousands of teachers and industry professionals who evaluate students’ analysis of asset allocation, the investment potential of various publicly traded stocks, the students’ overall understanding of the stock market, and the manner in which they express their investment ideas in essay form.
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“InvestWrite and The Stock Market Game program require students like Jess to monitor daily global market activity and economic factors that drive investments to determine the short and long-term growth potential of industries, companies, asset classes and specific stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.” said Melanie Mortimer, Executive Director of the SIFMA Foundation. “They are then asked to make sophisticated, thoughtful recommendations that reflect what is expected of college and career-ready students.”
The SIFMA Foundation’s InvestWrite competition bridges classroom learning in mathematics, social studies, language arts, business and economics, with the practical research and knowledge required for long-term personal financial planning. Students are, in fact, building on what they have learned through their participation in The Stock Market Game, which has reached more than 14 million students since its inception in 1977. Participants master the fundamentals of personal finance, investing and economics as early as 4th grade and become active and engaged learners, seeking out new information, applications, and connections in their daily lives.
The Stock Market Game and InvestWrite are offered in Minnesota by BestPrep, a nonprofit whose mission is to prepare Minnesota students with business, career and financial literacy skills. “The Stock Market Game is a unique and engaging experiential learning opportunity. Students get a head start on learning important financial literacy skills, which will serve them throughout their lives.” said Ann Benson, The Stock Market Game Program Manager at BestPrep. “InvestWrite is a fantastic opportunity for students to think critically about the market and use what they have learned in The Stock Market Game in a new way.”
An independent study by Learning Point Associates found that students who participated in The Stock Market Game scored significantly higher on mathematics and financial literacy tests than their peers who did not participate. They also found that teachers who taught The Stock Market Game reported the program motivated them to better plan for their future and to engage in financial planning, research, and use of investment products and services. The Stock Market Game has been named the only program that successfully increased scores on the Jumpstart Coalition’s test of high school students’ financial literacy.
Swanson and Martin were recognized at an awards ceremony on May 22 at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center.
