Credit Scores as Important to Teens as SATs

By Scott Horsley

Published May 19, 2006 at 5:17 PM EDT

By the time they turn 18, about one in five high school students already has a credit card. And they're not shy about using it. Credit card debt among young people roughly doubled during the 1990s. And so did the number of 18- to 24-year-olds filing bankruptcy.

Federal bankruptcy Judge John Hargrove got tired of seeing bankruptcy filings from such young debtors. So he's giving high school students in San Diego, Calif., a crash course in using credit wisely. Hargrove's program is called CARE, which stands for "Credit Abuse Resistance Education."

"It's not bad to have a credit card. It's just wise to know what you're doing," says bankruptcy attorney Jeffrey Schreiber, who participated in a recent CARE presentation along with Hargrove.

Below is a quiz Hargrove uses in the program.

Scott Horsley

Scott Horsley is NPR's Chief Economics Correspondent. He reports on ups and downs in the national economy as well as fault lines between booming and busting communities.

See stories by Scott Horsley

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Protect Connecticut Public

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

Protect Connecticut Public