You don't even need to compare a century old exams, you can notice a drop in subjects and depths even in college (hard) engineering degrees such as electrical engineering.
In my country the good ol' Netherlands (where both taxes and sea levels are too high) a hts (hogere technische school, or higher technical schools) of few decades ago included far more in depth mathematics and practical approaches to circuit problems compared to todays bachelor schools. Back then you had to understand the subject fully in either class or in library. You practically could not fill the gaps of education with the aid of online tutorials or online teacher's resources on Youtube. Compared to my current hbo (hoger beroepsonderwijs or higher professional education) bachelors degree education, there is a noticeable gap in knowledge and way more fluff courses which take away time and depth from the core of electrical engineering.
As a personal anekdote, I have tried analogue circuits exams from few decades ago and I did not know answers or made way too many mistakes in them, which signifies a gap in knowledge compared to older/ senior electrical engineers in a typical engineering firms.
Agreed on the drop in recent years, I included the older example for magnitude. But all technical subjects are dropping like a rock... most "IT degrees" don't cover any deep theory or hands on fundamentals...
You don't even need to compare a century old exams, you can notice a drop in subjects and depths even in college (hard) engineering degrees such as electrical engineering.
In my country the good ol' Netherlands (where both taxes and sea levels are too high) a hts (hogere technische school, or higher technical schools) of few decades ago included far more in depth mathematics and practical approaches to circuit problems compared to todays bachelor schools. Back then you had to understand the subject fully in either class or in library. You practically could not fill the gaps of education with the aid of online tutorials or online teacher's resources on Youtube. Compared to my current hbo (hoger beroepsonderwijs or higher professional education) bachelors degree education, there is a noticeable gap in knowledge and way more fluff courses which take away time and depth from the core of electrical engineering.
As a personal anekdote, I have tried analogue circuits exams from few decades ago and I did not know answers or made way too many mistakes in them, which signifies a gap in knowledge compared to older/ senior electrical engineers in a typical engineering firms.
In America, our decreasing average IQ tracks almost perfectly with mass immigration.
Since 1900? I don't buy that given the improvement in literacy alone.
Agreed on the drop in recent years, I included the older example for magnitude. But all technical subjects are dropping like a rock... most "IT degrees" don't cover any deep theory or hands on fundamentals...