Oak Forest HS Students Take Third Place in The Stock Market Game

After picking stocks that propelled them to the front of the class, students from Oak Forest High School took 3rd Place in the Spring semester of The Stock Market Game program’s online portfolio simulation. The team competed in the Senior level in their geographic region, beating out many other teams. Competition between student teams throughout Illinois drew to a close at the end of the Spring session with the highest valued portfolios receiving awards. The 3rd place winning student team included the Alexandra Torres, Zoe Rios, and Cassandra Larsen. Economics teacher Jim Musser and his winning team were recognized with medals and award certificates. Mr. Musser’s winning team increased their original $100,000 cash to a final portfolio equity of $109,155.56. They outperformed the S & P 500 for the same period by 5.86% percent. “I explain the game to them, I teach them how to research which is watching the pattern of how stocks perform, and then kids sit down with their team and they pick what they want to invest in and they start working at it. The students work pretty independently from January 9 to April 27,” said Mr. Musser. The Stock Market Game program is used in thousands of classrooms nationwide to help teach core academic subjects while emphasizing the importance of long-term saving and investing. Students work together in teams to conduct research, invest their hypothetical $100,000 cash account and manage their portfolio over time. Through their participation, student teams gain practical knowledge about the markets, learning such concepts as risk and diversification. While the students think they're playing a game, their teachers know they’re learning real-life economic and financial skills that will benefit them for years to come. The winning team put the following stocks in their bullpen: Netflix, Panera, Whirlpool, Pepsi, and Facebook. Netflix was the most expensive stock. Surprisingly, Panera came from behind and became the most profitable. At the last minute, they added Pepsi to round out their portfolio. Their strategy was pretty successful. All of the girls felt confident that this experience gave them the skills so that they would know how to invest their money once they graduate college and start investing.