Fall Review: 6 Popular Resources Shaping Student Success

What We Learned from Fall 2025

Educators everywhere are asking the same questions: What’s actually working in other classrooms? What skills are schools prioritizing right now? With more than 13,000 schools using Everfi this fall, we now have a clear picture of how life skills learning is taking shape across the country.

This review highlights what students learned in the first semester of the 2025–‘26 school year, with a focus on three fast-growing areas: financial literacy, well-being, and career-connected learning.

The data shows not just how many students participated, but how these lessons are improving confidence, strengthening decision making, and supporting the skills every student needs to navigate school, work, and life.

If you’re planning for the spring or looking to stay aligned with national trends, these insights offer a quick snapshot of what’s resonating in classrooms and why it matters.

Main Takeaways

• Life skills learning is booming, with more than 2.9 million student enrollments across Everfi’s 38 free digital resources.
• Financial literacy continues to surge, driving by 30 states requiring personal finance instruction for high schoolers and strong demand in grades K-8.
• Digital safety and student well-being resources reached over 1 million students, driven by ISTE-aligned updates and mental health needs.
• Career-connected learning continues to expand, with 200,000 students building workforce skills.
• Everfi students consistently experience strong learning gains and notable increases in confidence, decision-making, and real-world readiness.

Table of Contents

• What we learned in fall 2025
• K-12 usage at a glance
• Financial literacy education trends
• Digital literacy, online safety, and student well-being
• Addressing mental health and bullying in the digital age
• Workforce readiness and career-connected learning
• Implementation tips schools are using right now
• What the data says: fall 2025-’26 takeaways
• How you can bring Everfi to your district

K-12 Usage at a Glance

The reach of Everfi’s resources continues to expand, with over 2.9 million student enrollments and more than 13,000 schools participating nationwide in the 2025–2026 school year.

These numbers aren’t just impressive; they’re a testament to the trust educators place in Everfi’s award-winning, standards-aligned digital lessons.

Everfi’s platform is designed for accessibility and ease of use, making it simple for teachers to assign lessons and for students to engage with content that’s relevant to their lives.

The result? A growing community of educators and students who are not only meeting academic standards but also building essential life skills.

Financial Literacy Education Trends

Financial literacy is a foundational life skill that 30 states currently mandate be taught. That’s why Everfi provides schools with free, unlimited access to 16 financial literacy resources, spanning grades 4-12.

In the fall semester, more than 1.5 million students learned critical financial literacy skills with Everfi, which is a 15% increase compared to the same time last year.

What Students Learned This Fall

The most popular financial literacy resource was Everfi’s flagship high school course, EVERFI – Financial Literacy.

It helped educate over 300,000 high schoolers on topics such as:

• Banking
• Budgeting
• Emergency planning
• Financial goal setting
• Taxes

Of the students that completed EVERFI – Financial Literacy:

• The average student experienced a 38-point learning gain.
• 20% more students reported being prepared to figure out their take-home pay after completing the course.
• 84% of students felt ready to set up and follow a budget to manage spending and saving.

“Financial literacy is an important life skill that Everfi is providing our students free of cost. Every high school student in America needs to be exposed to this course. I am so glad my students have an opportunity to learn this valuable life skill through Everfi.” — High School Teacher, GA

Growth in Middle School Financial Education

The surge in financial literacy education is fueled by policy changes: 30 states now require a standalone personal finance course for all high schoolers, and districts in other states are proactively implementing their own requirements.

This momentum is driving earlier adoption, with middle school programs like SmartEconomics. experiencing a 47% year-over-year increase in enrollments.

Through a story-based narrative and interactive exercises, students learn to make real-life decisions that require the understanding of key economic concepts such as:

• Supply and demand
• The role of the government
• Inflation and GDP
• The impact of trade 

Of those who completed SmartEconomics:

• The average student experienced a 25-point learning gain.
• 31% of middle school students who completed SmartEconomics reported greater confidence in identifying factors that influence economic growth.

Why Districts are Expanding Personal Finance Instruction

Districts are proactively introducing financial literacy in middle school to ensure students enter high school with a solid foundation, especially since the average high school student struggles to pass the pre-assessments in Everfi’s foundational financial literacy resource.

The surge is also driven by teachers’ need for engaging, standards-aligned content that helps them explain complex current events like inflation, supply chains, and trade.

As state requirements expand, middle school programs like SmartEconomics offer timely solutions that are easy to implement and relevant to students’ lives.

“Everfi’s got a multiplier effect. Some of our families are listening and looking over kids’ shoulders and learning.” — Felix Melendez, Executive Director of Secondary Education, Glendale Unified

Digital Literacy, Online Safety, and Student Well-Being

As digital life continues to be ever more central to students’ experiences, schools are prioritizing digital wellness, online safety, and student well-being.

Over 1 million students participated in EVERFI’s health and wellness resources this year.

Ignition – Digital Wellness & Safety lead the way as this subject most popular health & wellness resource.

Over 230,000 students learned about:

• Digital footprints
• Building a positive online community
• Evaluating content
• Safety and privacy
• Balancing screen time with offline time

The results of students who completed Ignition are exciting:

• The average student experienced a 27-point learning gain.
• 51% more students reported they would speak with an adult about an online problem, rather than handling it alone after completing Ignition.
• 14% more students said they would end online arguments or drama after completing the course.

Ignition’s popularity stems from two major factors.

1. Districts have updated their digital citizenship and media literacy curricula to align with the latest ISTE standards. These updated standards emphasize privacy, identity, data protection, and critical evaluation of online content. Ignition’s lessons directly map to these standards, making it an easy, standards-aligned choice for advisory, health, and technology classes.
2. Growing concerns about youth mental health and cyberbullying have prompted schools to seek effective digital wellness solutions. Ignition provides practical modules on digital identity, respectful online interactions, screen-time balance, and seeking help, giving counselors and health teachers tangible tools for prevention and support in the first semester.

Addressing Mental Health and Bullying in the Digital Age

The intersection of digital wellness and mental health is a growing concern. National data links heavy social media use to increased risk of anxiety and depression, while cyberbullying remains prevalent among teens.

Schools are responding by adopting prevention-focused resources like Honor Code – Bullying Prevention. This popular resource experienced a 33% year-over-year increase in student enrollments.

Teacher’s love that Honor Code’s five concise lessons—Relationships, Leadership, Resilience, Courage, Community—plus a capstone project, are aligned to CASEL and NHES standards plus that they fit easily into curriculum maps.

Of those who completed Honor Code:

• The average student experienced a 29-point learning gain.
• 23% more students felt confident they could prevent bullying at their school.
• 22% were more likely to ask a trusted adult for help dealing with bullying.

“Everfi has been a game changer for us and our main intervention for student discipline infractions.” — District Administrator, Irvine Unified School District, CA

Workforce Readiness & Career-Connected Learning

Schools know that workforce readiness education is essential for student success in a rapidly changing economy. That’s why Everfi provides schools with free, unlimited access to five workforce readiness resources, spanning grades 8-12.

In the fall semester, more than 200,000 students learned critical career skills with Everfi, which is a 14% increase compared to the same time last year.

Effective College and Career Exploration

The most popular workforce readiness resource, Keys To Your Future, engaged more than 120,000 students.

Keys To Your Future allows students to explore various pathways and learn important skills that will help them find success in academic and workplace settings like:

• Identifying short and long-term goals
• Durable skills like time management and effective communication
• Networking
• College success
• Starting a career

Of those who completed Keys To Your Future:

• The average student experienced a 29-point learning gain.
• 81% of students agreed it helped them see how their interests and skills relate to future careers.

Keys to Your Future has grown in popularity because it aligns directly with what districts are prioritizing through their Portrait of a Graduate frameworks.

Schools are placing greater emphasis on durable skills such as communication, collaboration, self‑management, and goal setting, and Keys To Your Future teaches these competencies in practical, scenario-based lessons.

The resource is also meeting a rising need for structured postsecondary navigation.

Recent FAFSA changes, including the overhaul of the aid calculation system and expanded Pell eligibility, have pushed schools to give students earlier and more guided support.

Keys To Your Future helps students understand education’s return on investment, plan transitions, and practice decision‑making, filling essential gaps for counselors and advisory teachers.

Career Exploration and the Rise of Data Literacy in Schools

Accounting classes have long been a cornerstone of Career and Technical Education, but teachers have often struggled to find resources that make the subject engaging and relevant.

Everfi’s Accounting Careers: Limitless Opportunities is changing that, quickly becoming the fastest-growing resource in workforce readiness. The course saw an impressive 84% year-over-year increase in student enrollments.

Through scenario-based learning, students compare their own hobbies, interests, and passions to the variety of careers available to those with an accounting background.

Of those who completed Accounting Careers:

• The average student experienced a 36-point learning gain.
• 21% more students expressed interest in a career in accounting.

This surge is driven by the intersection of personal finance requirements and the growing recognition of accounting as a STEM field.

Accounting Careers frames modern accounting as analytical and tech-enabled, showing students how data literacy and financial skills power entrepreneurship and everyday decision-making.

“Everfi is the digital learning experience. It connects education with real life experience.” — District Administrator, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, FL

Implementation Tips Schools are Using Right Now

Everfi’s resources are designed for flexibility and ease of integration. Here’s how schools are making the most of them:

• Elementary:
  • Centers: Teachers love the ability to differentiate instruction by incorporating Everfi’s lessons into tsocial studies and math centers.
  • Guidance: Counselors find Everfi’s careers and resilience a great way to quickly build prior knowledge before beginning class discussions.
• Middle & High:
  • Advisory and Homeroom: Quick, standards-aligned lessons fit into short periods and support SEL/MTSS initiatives.
  • Health and Social Studies/Economics: Digital wellness, financial literacy, and career readiness modules align with state and national standards.
  • CTE/CCR Pathways: Workforce readiness and career-connected learning resources support Portrait of a Graduate and CTE goals.

Understanding State and National Standards Alignment

Each of Everfi’s 38 life skills resources are aligned to your state’s standards as well as national standards like:

• ISTE
• CASEL/NHES
• Jump$tart Personal Finance

Month-by-Month Ideas for Second Semester Planning

Want ideas on how to incorporate Everfi’s suite of life skills resources into your classroom throughout the spring?

Here’s a month-by-month calendar with free toolkits filled with on- and offline activities to keep your students engaged and learning:

• February: Celebrate Black History Month and Career & Technical Education Month with resources on African American history, entrepreneurship, and career exploration.
• March: Participate in National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week using Everfi’s health and wellness modules to spark important conversations about substance abuse prevention.
• April: Highlight Financial Literacy Month by assigning interactive lessons on budgeting, saving, and understanding paychecks.
• May: Support Mental Health Awareness Month with digital wellness and SEL resources that help students build resilience and healthy online habits

Explore Everfi’s classroom toolkits for each month to find ready-to-use lessons, classroom activities, and ideas for both online and offline learning.

What the Data Says: Fall 2025-’26 Takeaways

The data from the first semester of the 2025-’26 school year tells a clear story: K12 educators are embracing digital resources that deliver measurable gains in financial literacy, well-being, and workforce readiness.

These tools aren’t just meeting standards; they’re changing lives by preparing students to confidently live in a complex and connected world.

The collaborative spirit between educators and Everfi is at the heart of this progress. By leveraging data, sharing best practices, and focusing on what works, schools are ensuring that every student can succeed.

How You Can Bring Everfi to Your District

For Administrators:

Ready to see your district’s unique impact? Request your district’s Impact Report.

For Teachers:

Want to bring Everfi’s most popular resources to your classroom? Register today in under 5 minutes!

“To say I have been pleased with the Everfi Team is an understatement. We are appreciative of the standards-based curriculum modules, the ease of teachers being able to assign the lessons to their students, and the aspect of them being self-graded. I look forward to continuing to work with…the Everfi [Team].” — District Administrator, Fresno Unified, CA