I’m aware that standards have fallen, but I stand by my statement. Even if the standards had been kept to 1950’s standards,a properly educated and motivated person could have graduated by the time he was 14.
I was thinking more of the 1920’s standards. Al Smith governed NY and ran for President on a grade 8 education.
The more education became universal at higher levels, the more expectations were modified. 4th grade used to guarantee a certain facility in reading, writing, and arithmetic.
The language entrance exams for Universities used to be quite rigorous. I doubt that there are a half-dozen high school graduates in the U.S. that could pass Cornell’s entrance examinations of the 1890’s. The combination of breadth and depth expected was phenomenal.