Past performance is no guarantee of future results. But it can be informative.

Answer: 11.9%

Questions:

1. Do you think that putting your money in a savings account will earn you a higher or lower return than an investment in the stock market? Why?
2. Your friend says that the stock market is rigged and most people lose money there. Would you agree or disagree with him?
3. Is it fair to assume that the stock market will return about 10% a year in the future? Why or why not?

Advanced: 

1. Reviewing the NYU data set and looking at the past 50 years, what percentage of years did the S&P 500 have a positive return? 
2. In the years that the S&P500 had a loss, how did the 10 Year Treasury bond investment perform? How would you describe the purpose of a bond investment since it is often expected to have lower returns than stocks?

Here are the ready-to-go slides that you can use in your classroom!

Behind the Numbers (NYU data set):

This NYU data set is a great one for math teachers or if you want to teach spreadsheet skills and have students calculate means, medians, percentages and also get a feel for how different investments perform over long periods of time. 

About the Author

Kathryn Dawson

Kathryn (she/her) is excited to join the NGPF team after 9 years of experience in education as a mentor, tutor, and special education teacher. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and has a master's degree in education from Brooklyn College. Kathryn is looking forward to bringing her passion for accessibility and educational justice into curriculum design at NGPF. During her free time, Kathryn loves embarking on cooking projects, walking around her Seattle neighborhood with her dog, or lounging in a hammock with a book.

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