Are You Smarter Than An Eighth-Grader...?
Are you smarter than an eighth-grader... from 1912?
Most of us might think - yeah, sure. Of course. Especially if you happen to have a college degree.
Well, that's what I thought at first too.
I was talking on the phone with my mom this morning and she excitedly told me about how Bullitt County, Kentucky recently found an 8th grade exam for Bullitt County schools from 1912 and posted it on their website. You can see the exam here and test your knowledge!
So, I took a look and started skimming the Arithmetic. Uuuuhhhh.... Okay, then I moved on to grammar. I'm pretty good at English and spelling and whatnot.... Ooohkay, I couldn't even answer the first question! Moving onto Geography, I did pretty well. That's another strong suit of mine - as long as you don't ask me about modern Eastern Europe, I'm good! Physiology, not bad. Civil Government... eek! And History. I totally thought I would have that one considering my degree is in History, but NOPE! I totally bombed! Aack!
So, what I learned was that in 1912, with my current knowledge, I would not have passed 8th grade. OUCH. That's a sobering thought.
My mom brought up an interesting thought too. She said it was fascinating how the questions were phrased, and also the type of information that was considered important to remember and how that differs from today. They state on their website: "This copy of the Eighth Grade Exam for Bullitt County Schools in 1912 was donated to the museum. We thought you might like to see what the test looked like a hundred years ago. Obviously it tested some things that were more relevant at that time than now, and it should not be used to compare student knowledge then and now."
I suppose so... but it still gives one pause. :-)
Take the exam and then check possible answers here!