Not necessarily due to what that test shows, but I belive 8th graders back then had more fundamental knowledge, and retained it better than today's 8th graders.
Yes doctor, I am sick. Sick of those who are spineless. Sick of those who feel self-entitled. Sick of those who are hypocrites. Yes doctor, an army is forming. Yes doctor, there will be a war. Yes doctor, there will be blood.....
Holy Hand Grenade wrote:Here's a test that no person from 1895 could pass, but which most of our 8th graders would find easy.
1. Who invented the assembly line? 2. What is the Theory of Relativity? 3. Where is Iraq? 4. Which War was fought between 1914-1918? 5. Mussolini was the fascist dictator of which country? 6. What is "Of Mice and Men" about? 7. What kind of charge does an electron have?
8. Whats safe sex?
9. Largest animal in the ocean?
10. How do you steal music off the net?
Half Massed wrote:I think you guys are focusing on the wrong things here. Obviously kids in 1895 wouldn't know things that haven't happened yet, I don't get what point your trying to make with that, and the school systems were different back then (that's a good point Coppermine), but I was focusing more on the wording and sophistication of the questions rather than on the actual material.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.
If you learn how to do these it's probably not overly difficult, but it still does seem advanced for 12-13 year olds. Some of the subject matter may seem advanced for 8th grade nowadays, but if it was being taught to them, understanding would not be completely beyond the grasp of most kids that age. I'm not saying kids back then were much smarter than kids in the present, it just seems more was expected out of them. I think the sophistication in the questions is due to stricter schools and such rather than the kids themselves.
8th grade was probably a high level of learning back then so this would make sense. Did they even have college or master programs back then???
Half Massed wrote:I think you guys are focusing on the wrong things here. Obviously kids in 1895 wouldn't know things that haven't happened yet, I don't get what point your trying to make with that, and the school systems were different back then (that's a good point Coppermine), but I was focusing more on the wording and sophistication of the questions rather than on the actual material.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.
If you learn how to do these it's probably not overly difficult, but it still does seem advanced for 12-13 year olds. Some of the subject matter may seem advanced for 8th grade nowadays, but if it was being taught to them, understanding would not be completely beyond the grasp of most kids that age. I'm not saying kids back then were much smarter than kids in the present, it just seems more was expected out of them. I think the sophistication in the questions is due to stricter schools and such rather than the kids themselves.
8th grade was probably a high level of learning back then so this would make sense. Did they even have college or master programs back then???
A good point though, anyone who was in the 8th grade was definitely going to college... and probably a prestigious one by today's standards. As I said, there wasn't a lot of diversity as far as the educated goes back then. There were two main social classes, the working class and the thinking class. If you were in school at that point, you were probably going on to be a doctor, a lawyer, a jouranlist or something along those lines.
bronxxbomber wrote:is that serious because i don't really know a few of those
True that.
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by Madison » Sat Dec 10, 2005 3:54 pm 
That was kinda hard
