Nowadays, eight grade is typically where we start some pre-algebra concepts. Fractions and percentages are something that they do typically still struggle with. The formatting of the problems would probably through them off - word problems always do - but I think most of the 8th graders I’ve worked with who weren’t totally behind could pass arithmetic.
Diagramming grammar is out of a fashion - my middle school English teacher buddy confessed to me had he stole all of his grammar material from his colleague because he didn’t really get it. (Which perhaps this general lack of grammar education is why the Right is melting down over “pronouns”)
They would all 100% bomb the spelling test. High schoolers would bomb that spelling test. They are reliant on auto-correct.
Eighth grade probably couldn’t do the physiology - I think NGSS has that all in 6th grade, IIRC, and it the vocab would probably be unfamiliar. But an eight grader could give a better particle level explanation for how sound works or a chemical reaction. Those questions sound like they’d be something that I’d see when working with a high school biology student (typically 9th/10th grade).
History and geography just show a difference in priorities. The history is especially weak, with the focus on names an extremely out of date approach to both understanding and teaching history.
The real impressive thing is the civics. No one talks local politics. “[State] History” is always a class taught by the most unqualified coach.
This makes sense to me. I recognize that the point of the meme is to shock people, but it seems like a pretty reasonable test for 8th graders. Sure, we do some things n a different order now, and our focus is different but none of this is crazy.
Yeah - often people will pull up tests from the 1800s and see all the Greek and Latin, then say “oh kids today couldn’t do this!”
But kids today are much better equipped at understanding higher level math and science. I don’t think 19th and early 20th century high schools often got up to offering calculus.
We don’t see Greek and Latin as useful or necessary to be an “educated” person anymore. We do more highly value those STEM skills.
Our understanding of history is also different. Those 1912 students could name generals, dates and battles of the Civil War - but you can be damn sure they were learning a manipulative and inaccurate Lost Cause narrative. Knowing who George Washington is and that “he could never tell a lie” is not the same as understanding the full context and meaning of the American Revolution. Sir Walter Raleigh would be a great jumping off point to discuss state sponsored piracy, and the politics of his death might be interesting, but they probably just learned that he was a brave man with a sense of adventure and determination!
The priorities are interesting.
Nowadays, eight grade is typically where we start some pre-algebra concepts. Fractions and percentages are something that they do typically still struggle with. The formatting of the problems would probably through them off - word problems always do - but I think most of the 8th graders I’ve worked with who weren’t totally behind could pass arithmetic.
Diagramming grammar is out of a fashion - my middle school English teacher buddy confessed to me had he stole all of his grammar material from his colleague because he didn’t really get it. (Which perhaps this general lack of grammar education is why the Right is melting down over “pronouns”)
They would all 100% bomb the spelling test. High schoolers would bomb that spelling test. They are reliant on auto-correct.
Eighth grade probably couldn’t do the physiology - I think NGSS has that all in 6th grade, IIRC, and it the vocab would probably be unfamiliar. But an eight grader could give a better particle level explanation for how sound works or a chemical reaction. Those questions sound like they’d be something that I’d see when working with a high school biology student (typically 9th/10th grade).
History and geography just show a difference in priorities. The history is especially weak, with the focus on names an extremely out of date approach to both understanding and teaching history.
The real impressive thing is the civics. No one talks local politics. “[State] History” is always a class taught by the most unqualified coach.
This makes sense to me. I recognize that the point of the meme is to shock people, but it seems like a pretty reasonable test for 8th graders. Sure, we do some things n a different order now, and our focus is different but none of this is crazy.
Yeah - often people will pull up tests from the 1800s and see all the Greek and Latin, then say “oh kids today couldn’t do this!”
But kids today are much better equipped at understanding higher level math and science. I don’t think 19th and early 20th century high schools often got up to offering calculus.
We don’t see Greek and Latin as useful or necessary to be an “educated” person anymore. We do more highly value those STEM skills.
Our understanding of history is also different. Those 1912 students could name generals, dates and battles of the Civil War - but you can be damn sure they were learning a manipulative and inaccurate Lost Cause narrative. Knowing who George Washington is and that “he could never tell a lie” is not the same as understanding the full context and meaning of the American Revolution. Sir Walter Raleigh would be a great jumping off point to discuss state sponsored piracy, and the politics of his death might be interesting, but they probably just learned that he was a brave man with a sense of adventure and determination!