Just for Fun: Take a 100-Year Old Test for 8th Graders


This was making the rounds a while back. Perhaps you’ve already seen it.  It’s a test for 8th graders from Bullitt County in Kentucky...from 1912. It’s really worth a look. How well could you do?
To me, the spelling list looks difficult for today’s 8th grade. The arithmetic section looks like mostly real-world problems. Most of the rest- grammar, geography, physiology, civil government, and history- seem pretty low-level knowledge questions. “Name,” “Define,” List” questions abound. I only spot one “Why” question.
So, while the amount of “stuff” to know is great, it’s all Google-able. And really, if it’s Google-able, how much thinking are the  students doing?

No comments:

Post a Comment