Remember when we had to draw diagrams of circuits to pass the exams? I hold an advanced class and will never upgrade to Extra because Advanced is no longer offered and it is a unique license to hold because of that. KI6JH.
That was a bit before my time. In 1982 I still had to go to the FCC to take the test but it was all multiple choice.
Having Technician Class prior to the 1987 divergence (when it was automatically changed to "Technician Plus" I carried the element 3 credit of a General. But the next two phases of restructuring where they first eased the Morse requirement and then eliminated it entirely, the license class reverted to Technician, which reflected a knowledge level somewhat lower than I had actually achieved. So in essence, I was downgraded in status at least. I'm not sure why they did it that way but perhaps it was difficult for them to mine the database of Tech Plus holders and divide them according to how they achieved it (whether or not they had passed element 3). So I had to go to a VE session to be made whole, while you still carry the status and privileges you had before.
But I'm happy with the outcome in my case.