8th-grade exam from 1912 prepared kids for the 'real world' is an eye-opener

Since the world entered the technological revolution, education systems have drastically changed. However, an 8th-grade exam paper from 1912 suggests that education may have regressed over the past century. A woman named Hannah Frankman, who posts as @HannahFrankman on X, shared the exam and pointed out the stark contrasts it highlights.

"This is an 8th grade exam from 1912. No calculating how many watermelons Stacey can fit in her station wagon. It's all about things like interest payments and construction problems. Real-world stuff. Because 8th grade education was supposed to be adequate prep for real life," Frankman wrote in the caption of the post. The exam paper reads, "Eighth-grade examinations from Bullitt County Schools, November 1912." The first segment had spellings like exaggerate, incentive, conscious and so on. The next segment was reading, which involved the "reading and writing" recommended by the teacher. It also had quite a few arithmetic problems that included real-world questions like finding out profit/loss and so on. 

The exam included sections on grammar, geography (covering both global and U.S. topics), and physiology, with questions on basic human health. History had questions about wars and inventions, while Civil government quizzed the students about the important functions of the government. Frankman also added, "If this strikes a nerve, I interview people every week who are building innovative alternatives to our (very broken) education system." Many people took to the comments section of the post to share their thoughts on the education system as well as their experiences with the same.

@CARRIEisntscary wrote, "Whenever I see schoolroom setups at historical recreation 'villages' or read about schools from the late 1800s- early 1900s; I am amazed at the level of learning. Our education has fallen significantly compared to how it was then. Our expectations are so much lower now." @TheCynthonian commented, "My grandmother was born in 1898 and only had an eighth-grade education. She was a bookkeeper and office manager in NYC for many years. During the Depression, she was the major breadwinner for my grandfather and my Mom. She was a lifelong learner and a brilliant woman."

@MarianneWe29474 remarked, "My grandma was born in 1911 and had a 10th-grade education. She was a business owner and a buyer for a children’s clothing store. She could budget like nobody’s business. She never enjoyed reading for pleasure, though. I always found that strange, but she said she read everything worth reading in school!" @CarinCamen shared, "Parents worked hard to ensure each child could succeed as an adult. Their failure was literally life or death to the child if they were unable to support themselves and their family. It was the life or death of the aging parent if they had no children who could take care of them in their elder years."