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Bullitt County's 1912 Test for Eighth-Graders is Difficult

This image is making the rounds on the Internet this week. It's a test apparently given to eighth-graders in Bullitt County in 1912.The gist of all the commentary can be summarized this way: "Some of these questions are really difficult to figure out."The test was  posted on the Bullitt County History website, which is a project of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society. Here's a section:

You can find the whole teston the Bullitt County History website. Possible answers are here. The website notes that the test, while perhaps difficult to today's eighth-graders (and 40-year-olds), has a few typos.It continues: Bullitt County Schools were mostly one-room schools in those days, scattered around the rural county. Students came together at the county courthouse once or twice a year to take this "Common Exam." It was apparently a big deal. The local newspaper urged students to do well, even urging seventh graders that it was not too early to start preparing. Some scholarships were provided to those who passed to go on to high school, which was also a big deal back then. In those days, high school was sometimes another county away and a rare thing for many farm children to be able to otherwise attend.Huffington Post gave the test to some current eighth-graders. Watchhere.Bullitt County schools are back in session; Jefferson County Public Schools go back into session on Tuesday.

Joseph Lord is the online managing editor for WFPL.