Are You Smarter Than An 8th Grader From 1912? I'm Not.

90% of public school alleged teachers would not pass that test.

There is a reason that through most of the American experience people rarely continued with school beyond eight grades. They were, as Tocqueville wrote, the best educated people on earth, and higher education was the education of work.

Posted by james wilson at July 31, 2013 8:09 AM

For those who wonder, Bullitt County is in Kentucky, just south of the city of Louisville

Posted by Clayton in Mississippi at July 31, 2013 11:20 AM

Hell, I'm starting to forget the Vice President. What happened to lonesome Joe anyway?

Posted by Duncan at July 31, 2013 12:01 PM

Hell, I'm starting to forget the Vice President. What happened to lonesome Joe anyway?

Posted by Duncan at July 31, 2013 12:01 PM

In the 8th Grade Spelling Examination, 'endeavor' is misspelled.

Posted by Lorne at July 31, 2013 4:53 PM

What catches my eye is item #6 under "Civil Government": "Name three rights given Congress by the Constitution and two rights denied Congress."

At least our grandparents knew that the Federal Government had limits on its power, as laid out in the Constitution. Later generations, not so much, alas.

Hale Adams
Pikesville, People's Democratic Republic of Maryland

Posted by Hale Adams at July 31, 2013 5:24 PM

Yeah, but an 8th grader in 1912 didn't have to know the latest Piss Ditty rap lyrics about bitches & hoes, how to do raunchy sex-pushing dance moves like Beyondme, or which Kardashian was being the slut with whom. Nor did they know how to negotiate the Government healthcare system for free birth control and abortions, and still survive thousands of hours of brainwashing by the Government no-education system, plus thousands more hours of media's mind numbing mush and propaganda. Hell, kids in 1912 didn't even have to be thumb-ninjas on touchscreen phones, or obsessed about their Facebook status. Talk about having it easy! /s

My Dad always said of people who spoke of the good old day that they could have them, he was happy with the here and now.

Posted by twolaneflash at July 31, 2013 9:42 PM

Possibly, but I certainly had a different education.

Posted by Christopher Taylor at August 1, 2013 7:42 AM

My father built a manufacturing/retail business, raised a decent family, and enabled dozens of employees to raise decent families of their own on his 8th grade education.

Posted by monkeyfan at August 1, 2013 9:06 AM

To be fair, how many of us can kalsomine anything or deduct a dodr from that equation?

Posted by Jewel at August 2, 2013 6:57 AM

Who cares? And for those who think the it's bad schooling, get a life. Have you ever watched "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader"? The reason adults can't answer the majority of these questions because it has no relevance to anything we do on earth. It's mindless facts. Who cares about the elgibibilty to be the Governor of Kentucky? If I want to be the Governer of Kentucky, I'll look up the eligiblity. You know what they taught us in school? How to FIND ANSWERS, that's 10 times more important that the actual knowlege.

Posted by Tyler at August 5, 2013 4:50 AM