What An 8th Grader From 1912 Was Expected To Know

by TeachThought Staff

If you’ve ever wondered what an 8th-grade student from over a century ago was expected to know, wonder no more.

The following is a scan of a report card from 1912 from Bullitt County Schools in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. If we’re being honest, this sample is a bit underwhelming: science and social studies are missing, and the reading and writing portions are ‘given by the teacher.’ With these exclusions, we’ll skip diving into the deep end of a post praising how much things have changed–or criticizing how much they haven’t.

That spelling test, though. Impressive.