Am I smarter than an Indian 10th grader? Answer Unclear…

It’s quiz day at Partnership for Learning and, no, we didn’t break out a stack of bawdy Cosmos to compare “kissing styles.” We finally got around to taking the “Third World Challenge” quizzes from the Two Million Minutes website. The quizzes are shortened and simplified versions of the test 10th graders in India must pass to gain admittance to 11th grade—and they cover everything.

I had misgivings going into the tests about my scores, but you’ll have try out the test for yourself to see how you fair. And trust me, if you’re not beefed up on UN resolutions, start reading the Acquis Communautaire.

Here’s a breakdown of how I did, as an individual educated in Washington with a B.A. in Journalism and the Comparative History of Ideas from the UW:

English (pretty easy as a native speaker): 13 out of 15/Highly Proficient

Biology : 9 out of 15/Good

History: 8 out of 15/Average

Geography (gulp, somewhere Mrs. Watkinson is cringing): 5 out of 15/Poor

And my assistant Lindsey, educated in Oregon, B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Brigham Young University:

Geography: 6 out of 15/Average

Biology: 9 out of 15/Good

Bottom line: Would we be admitted to the 11^th grade in New Delhi? Signs point to unclear, but I do know that my scores wouldn’t have been any better in high school. Maybe if we required Washington students to take similarly rigorous curriculum in high school…and we’re looking right at you, State Board of Education.