In 1908, Minnesota 8th graders were expected to answer a number of questions on American history in order to gain entrance to high school. A sampling of these questions is found in the quiz below. Keep in mind that the 8th graders of 1908 didn’t have the luxury of multiple choice answers!

Do you think that modern 8th graders would have difficulty passing this test, particularly given the fact that only 18 percent of them score proficient on U.S. history? Does history need to be a bigger emphasis of the school curriculum?