Back in the day I took all of my algebra in Jr. High (now called middle school, and advanced math, trig, geometry, calculus in HS. Today these classes are what are now called AP classes (advanced placement).
Old School = New School
JR High = High School
HS Diploma = Associates Degree
Associates Degree = Bachelor Degree
Bachelor Degree = Master Degree
Of course if you go way back to the turn of the century those test just to get out of 8th grade (we all seen the emails of those tests) were killers...
My mother was born in 1921 and I always believed she got a much better education in a small town in TN than I did in the 60s in Miami. We were very much “dumbed down”.