1. Limited Resources and Choice
   Understand cost and benefits of economic choice and use this knowledge to make sound economic decisions.
2. Role and Function of Markets
   Understand how markets function and analyze the role of prices and incentives to realize how economic interactions affect human behavior.
3. Economic Interdependence
   Evaluate the costs and benefits of trade among individuals, nations, and organizations to explain why trade results in higher overall levels of production and consumption.
4. Role of Government
   Understand how the government influences the well being of people and institutions.
5. Economic Analysis
   Understand and use the tools of the economist to make informed decisions.

Comprehensive economics content standards were developed by the National Council on Economic Education and the Foundation for Teaching Economics. These content standards serve as the foundation for teaching economics in our nation’s elementary and secondary schools. The standards were developed by a panel of economists and economic educators and includes a rationale for its inclusion; benchmarks indicating attainment levels for students in grades 4,8, and 12; samples of what students can do to enhance or demonstrate their understanding of economics; and correlation of existing EconomicsAmerica publications to the standards. See http://www.economicsamerica.org/standards/ for

• an annotated list of the 20 Voluntary Content Standards in Economics
• handbook, The "what and why" of the economics content standards