A team of students at Ringgold High School finished first in the Stock Market Game for the Catoosa County schools during their 2012 fall semester. Teacher Jennifer Moeller advised the team of students including Samantha Greeson, Anna Headrick and Rachel Purcell, who took their hypothetical start-up investment of $100,000 and turned it into a portfolio with a value of $110,801 in 10 weeks.

They also joined more than 600 students, teachers and a few parents from across Georgia for the 32nd annual Stock Market Game awards luncheon at the Freight Depot in Atlanta. State school superintendent John Barge was at the May luncheon to congratulate the students on their hard work.

Barge, who also participated in the Stock Market Game nearly three decades ago, told the students the game, like the rest of the education they are receiving, can prepare them for what they’ll need to know as they get older.

“Your success says a lot about the quality of education you’re receiving in Georgia,” Barge said. “You may not be stock brokers, but you can learn from this. Many of you will have an opportunity to invest money in various retirement plans and mutual funds. For me, I invest that money through someone else who knows what they are doing. Who knows? I might have some of you guys doing it for me in the future.”

The Stock Market Game shows students how the buttons and levers of private enterprise work, how different parts of America’s economy can function in predictable, cause-and-effect ways. Fourth through 12th grade students learn how economics can directly impact their lives, but they are able to do so within the realms of safe environment, before they enter the real workplace.

Beginning with a hypothetical $100,000 portfolio, teams of up to five students use math, language and skills they’ve learned in other classes to research publicly-traded companies on the Internet. They read business news and “crunch numbers” to figure out which businesses and industries are likely to do well in the current economy.

Student teams decide on which stocks to buy and when. After ten weeks, the team with the highest portfolio value wins. In addition to one statewide winner and runner up, one winning team is selected from each public school district, or geographic region.

More than 35,000 students in public and independent schools participate in the Stock Market Game in Georgia each year in fall and spring competitions. To learn more, go to the Georgia Council on Economic Education website at gcee.org.