South Dakota Stock Market Game program at BHSU celebrates 25th year

The 2019 spring session of the South Dakota Stock Market Game concluded its 10-week trading session Thursday, April 18. For the spring trading session, 451 students from 26 South Dakota schools formed 202 teams of stock market investors and received a hypothetical $100,000 to perform online investing in real-time stocks, bonds and mutual funds. The South Dakota Stock Market Game has been delivered by Black Hills State University through the Center for Economic Education since 1994. 
 
The program’s carefully integrated curriculum lets students experience the financial markets in the classroom as they learn about business, math, economics, personal finance and the importance of saving and investing for the long term.  Student teams compete for prizes in the High School, Middle School and College divisions. 
 
The winner of the High School Division was Jones County High School in Murdo with a final portfolio value of $ 118,073 and an 18.1 % return on investment and the highest portfolio in the state.  For comparison purposes, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 7.1 % over this same time-period. Teacher Carmen Miller used the program in her Personal Finance class.  
 
The winner of the Middle School division was St. Joseph School in Pierre with a final portfolio of $ 111,362. Teacher Steven Rounds used the program in his 5th grade Social Studies class.
 
The winner of the College division was BHSU student Susan Roth, public accountancy major from Parkston.  Her final portfolio value was $ 110,671.  Susan participated in the program as part of her Advanced Accounting course at BHSU.
 
The Black Hills State University Center for Economic Education has an exclusive license to operate the SMG program in South Dakota with the Securities Industry Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).  The SMG program is widely identified as the leader in youth financial education and the only program proven in rigorous, independent studies year-after-year to raise math and financial literacy test scores and to change financial behavior for the better for students and teachers. 
 
Over 600,000 students from all 50 states participate in the SMG each year.  In South Dakota, about 1,000 students from 50 schools participate in the spring and fall trading sessions each year. The SDSMG is sponsored by the Black Hills State University Center for Economic Education, the Securities Industry Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and the South Dakota Council on Economic Education.
 
The SDSMG program provides teachers with online support during each trading session and receive free online training prior to each session.  During the 10-week session, teachers receive weekly newsletters on economic, business and personal finance topics to integrate the program into a variety of grade levels and subjects.  The SMG program includes InvestWrite, a national essay competition that is the culminating SMG activity. Students are challenged to think critically about real-world financial issues by preparing essays about long-term saving and investing. Winners receive a paid trip to New York City and a visit to the New York Stock Exchange. 
 
The Fall 2019 SDSMG session starts on September 30 and ends on December 6.  Registration begins August 1.  To register, go to http://www.stockmarketgame.org. For more information, contact Professor Don Altmyer, BHSU Center for Economic Education Director and South Dakota Stock Market Game Coordinator at donaltmyer@bhsu.edu