# Grade school numbering

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grade-school-numbering/671849>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [October 21, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grade-school-numbering/671849 "2013-10-21T18:49:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grade-school-numbering/671849/21 "2013-10-26T05:04:51Z")

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> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#):
>
> Pretty much every English language version is called either “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” or, in countries where they don’t call them “grades”, “Are You Smarter Than a 10-Year-Old?”.

But why would you still say “5th graders” if you don’t say “5th grade”? That’s almost as bad as calling all carbonated beverages “coke” even if not Coca Cola. :smack::smack::smack:

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**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grade-school-numbering/671849/22 "2013-10-26T08:53:33Z")

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South Africa, started school in the mid-90s. We used cardinal numbers. For the first few years I was in school the first two years were called “Sub A” and “Sub B” and then the third year and onward were numbered “Standard 1”, “Standard 2” etc. Then a few years in they were renumbered so that “Sub A” became “Grade 1” and so on. We used the cardinal numbering right the way through high school, although Grade 12 (the final grade) was and is generally referred to as “Matric”.

As to what we called the students, someone in Grade 5 would be called “a Grade 5” (or “a Grade 5 student” if necessary for clarity).

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**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grade-school-numbering/671849/23 "2013-10-29T22:55:04Z")

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> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#):
>
> Ordinals here in California, from back in the 70’s when I was in school up until the present day.

Same here; in fact at my high school we continued with the ordinals right up until graduation from the 12th grade. The only exception I remember is that in the section of the yearbook where all the individual portraits were grouped by class, they used the class names–sophomore, junior, and senior. LAUSD was on the K6-3-3 plan in those days, so ninth grade was taught in the junior high schools.

I’m just old enough to remember A and B classes (upper and lower halves of a year generally according to age). I remember it was still a thing when I started junior high in 1969, but by the time I finished HS in 1975 it had vanished completely.

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grade-school-numbering/671849/24 "2013-10-30T13:26:29Z")

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Ordinals, 1950s.

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