Snopes says it ain't so.

1. What is the difference between Facebook and MySpace?
2. Which is more useful: satellite or streetview in Google Maps?
3. Which would be more useful for a geocacher: a powerbook, or an iMac desktop?
4. Who first reported Michael Jackson's death: CNN, or TMZ?
5. Which is faster: an iPhone 3GS, or a Palm Pre?
6. Give five reasons that blogs provide better coverage of breaking news than the NY Times.

Most college students today could answer all of those, and quite easily. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington would be utterly stumped. This, however, does not prove that most college students today are smarter than George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, just that people tend to learn the things that are relevant to their lives.

Of course "Thomas Jefferson and George Washington would be utterly stumped." The specific references you make are to items and concepts that were not yet invented. You can't say the same for the 1895 exam. In fact, almost all of the exam deals with various facts and concepts that are as valid now as they were then. The difference may be in the language to describe the concepts (rods), or the subjective value of even studying them (trigraph, linguals). Still, the test is based on empirical facts that have not changes since 1895. So a comparison to the 6 questions listed above is a logical fallacy.

Most college students today could answer all of those, and quite easily. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington would be utterly stumped. This, however, does not prove that most college students today are smarter than George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, just that people tend to learn the things that are relevant to their lives.

your questions are about pop culture (fads); the test shown is about core subjects (grammar, math, history)--and the answers haven't changed since the test was written.

given that, I'd say it's still entirely relevant (though you might change the examples used).

I get resumes from freshly minted college graduates who can't distinguish between then and than. Ex: " I have more then 2 years customer service experience"
...pitiful.

In fact, almost all of the exam deals with various facts and concepts that are as valid now as they were then

The concept of how many bushels of wheat a wagon that is 2 ft. deep, 10 ft. long, and 3 ft. wide is still valid? I believe the fact of the answer is unchanged since 1895, but is the concept really valid? It certainly isn't relevant, except maybe to the Amish. And what the heck is Hecla? Of what use are rivers or oceans to whom, or what?

I think the point is that this test is as culturally specific as questions like "What is the difference between Facebook and MySpace" are. Doing well on it relies on knowing what issues are important to the people asking the questions, so you know what to study and know what kind of answers are expected. Arguing that people are dumber or our education system is suffering because people today would do poorly on this test is as meaningless as expecting Ben Franklin to answer questions about the Theory of Relativity.

"It certainly isn't relevant, except maybe to the Amish."

I dunno. There seem to be quite a few bushels of wheat by the sides of roads in eastern Oregon.

The concept of how many bushels of wheat a wagon that is 2 ft. deep, 10 ft. long, and 3 ft. wide is still valid?

did you miss the "it's a math problem" part? or is the "bushels of wheat" part tripping you up?

I think the point is that this test is as culturally specific as questions like "What is the difference between Facebook and MySpace" are.

I'd say calculating interest on a loan very different culturally (and has a much less ephemeral value) than "Facebook".

Arguing that people are dumber or our education system is suffering because people today would do poorly on this test is as meaningless as expecting Ben Franklin to answer questions about the Theory of Relativity.

the test being meaningful doesn't mean it's a commentary on the education system.

I'm with Snopes, it ain't a reel eight grade test. It fake, my mamma teeched me much gooder inglish then what that fake test does.

"A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?"

There's an app for that.

Of course, if you assumed our forefathers studied relevant weights and measures, this would look like it might be a simple math story problem.

Then again, if you were a devotee of the margins of Pee Chee folders of my own youth, you would have seen all of the notations on unit conversions that used to be there and would vaguely remember that a bushel was a dry volume measurement for dry goods that didn't translate well into units like feet or inches.

One bushel, in fact, equals eight gallons, or 2150.42 cubic inches. The wagon is 24 in. by 120 in. by 36 in., for a total of 103,680 cu. in.

That's 48.2138373 bushels (385.710698 gallons), which tends to make me think the question's not real, even if it wasn't for the fact that the wagon box is supposed to be two feet tall and ten feet long but only three feet wide. I may not have built or ridden in many wagons, but you don't bother to use a concrete example and then just pick three numbers out of nowhere to make some irrational result in a math problem.

And seriously, "Monrovia" on a test in 1895? Does anyone really think the average geography test then included a question asking about the capitol of the country started by American slaves shipped to Africa?

I couldn't pass this test, but that doesn't prove nothing. I ain't not no undumber.