I can’t speak as to why high schools aren’t doing as much on financial literacy as might be desirable. However, I would offer that return on investment may be one of the most important financial concepts students should be learning in high school, because it is absolutely critical for making smart choices about investing in higher education.

In its most simple form, ROI is nothing more than the ratio of your expected future earnings (above and beyond those made by someone who has only finished high school) to how much you spend on education and training after high school. But it demands that learners take the time to figure out two things: (1) how much do people who complete a specific certificate/associate’s degree/bachelor’s degree program at a specific college or university really make, and (2) how much will I really spend to complete my degree at that college or university. Unfortunately, for many students, finding the answers to these questions is difficult.

Only a small number of states make it easy for the public to access college-specific, program-level (that is, “bachelor’s degree in organizational psychology from Texas Tech”) data on wages. AIR’s College Measures Project has been working with a group of states to make this data more available via consumer-friendly websites. Time and again, we’ve shown it pays to do your homework: in any given state, you’ll find short-term certificates that can propel learners into the middle class, bachelor’s degrees that lead to disappointing wage outcomes, and everything in between.

The picture is better for students who want to understand their true cost of college—or at least it should be. The U.S. Department of Education requires that each college and university participating in federal student aid programs provide a net price calculator—a tool that helps a visitor to the college’s website move beyond the school’s advertised “sticker price” and receive a more personalized estimate of their costs after grants and scholarships. The Department also requires institutions to publish average net price for first-time, full-time undergraduate students based on income bands. Unfortunately, not enough students know about these tools and never find out just how affordable some colleges can be. As a result, some students don’t enroll at institutions that can represent a great value, particularly in terms of ROI. And some students don’t enroll at all.

Understanding ROI—and having access to the information needed to calculate it—is critical if students and families are going to make smart schooling choices that can help them achieve their goals and dreams. Not “getting it” can lead to spending tens of thousands of dollars on programs of study that lead students nowhere.”