The United States High School curriculum is severely flawed, as it is largely focused on standardized tests and college preparation rather than crucial life skills. The necessity of equipping students of the younger generations with practical life and civics skills has never been more evident given the recent influx of policies prioritizing test preparation at the expense of skills applicable in the 21st century. The Department of Education and schools nationwide must realize that test scores are insignificant compared to more critical lifelong skills. Increased 21st-century life skills, such as financial literacy and civic literacy education, should be implemented in public schools nationwide to capitalize on students' period of adolescence, during which learning capabilities are high. Life and civics skills education bridges the gap between basic functioning and capabilities and improves an individual's ability to respond to the demands and needs of today's society. By implementing increased civic and financial skills education, students will be equipped with the skills needed to navigate life. 

Recent education curriculum reform policies have focused on standardizing and mainstreaming curricula nationwide by providing guidelines for what students should be taught in school. To prioritize high performance on standardized tests with the goal of getting students into rigorous universities, these policies have denied schools the ability to promote 21st-century skills that are crucial for students to learn. The leading policies promoting this agenda are Race to the Top, Common Core Curriculum, and No Child Left Behind. Race to the Top invested over $400 million to raise school standards and align education policies to support college readiness. These policies included an increased emphasis on ensuring student mastery of skills needed for high school graduation requirements, developing strict standards for comprehensive assessments, and implementing data systems to inform schools of student progress. After receiving funding under Race to the Top, schools devoted more time, energy, and resources to subjects promoting better standardized test scores. Furthermore, the nationwide Common Core policy also promoted a curriculum concentrated on standardized testing. Common Core introduced academic standards that outline expectations for every student in each grade level. Rather than encompassing all aspects of a well-rounded curriculum, Common Core specifically targets two subject areas: mathematics and English Language Arts. By prioritizing a curriculum that narrowly focuses on standardized testing subjects, other vital subjects such as history, science, and arts aren't given proper attention, thus threatening students' well-rounded education. Additionally, implementing the No Child Left Behind policy led schools to design curricula focusing on increasing standardized test scores rather than other life skills. The policy was created with the intention of focusing on the learning progress of disadvantaged students by providing underprivileged students with more educational opportunities. However, the policy penalized schools that did not show improvement on annual statewide math and reading tests, which prompted teachers to devote more time towards test preparation and subjects emphasized on standardized tests. 

Balancing the emphasis on standardized testing with financial literacy skills and civics education is necessary. By implementing curricula that can help students hone crucial skills, schools can effectively set students up for success in their adult lives, regardless of their future plans. 

Implementing civics education programs is pivotal because inclusive curricula promote an inclusive classroom that provides improved critical thinking and higher overall achievement levels for minority and majority students. Civics education curricula confront entrenched racial biases, which is essential due to education’s profound influence on shaping perceptions. Moreover, students must now hone their strong civic literacy skills in the current age of digital media. Many students use social media platforms as their primary news source. Civics education in the form of increasing information literacy skills can help students develop the skills to differentiate misinformation from facts, further allowing them to participate actively in democracy. Instead of listening to internet biases, civic literacy skills will enable students to turn learned facts into informed opinions. 

Implementing financial literacy skills into high school education can set students up for financial success by improving their understanding of loans, credit, savings accounts, and other necessary financial information. Schools should provide financial literacy education in the form of personal finance education as a cumulative process, with age-appropriate topics being taught each year based on grade level. The basics of personal financial planning should start as early as elementary school, introducing young people to money, its value, and how to invest and spend responsibly and safely. As some students lack a parental support system at home, students are oftentimes oblivious about how to navigate their financial decisions. 

With a recent influx of policies prioritizing standardized test prioritization in high schools, students lack other crucial 21st-century skills. Students nationwide can develop financial literacy skills and enhanced critical thinking abilities by implementing financial literacy and civic literacy education into high school curricula.