That is because graduating from 5th and 8th grade once was an achievement, and in the scheme of human history, is remarkable. What most 5th and 8th graders hav

That is because graduating from 5th and 8th grade once was an achievement, and in the scheme of human history, is remarkable. What most 5th and 8th graders have learned by the time they "graduate" would have once been more education than kings and philosophers received over the courses of their lifetimes. To put things into perspective: your average 8th grader has received more education than Newton had when he began developing calculus (though obviously, the 8th grader's education is more spread out and generalized). It was only in the last century (post WWI) that graduating from high school became commonplace. It was not until after the GI Bill (post-WWII) that attending college became common. It was not until after Vietnam that attending college became the new normal.