At what age/grade do we retain information to? (college, high school, geography)

[jobaba]

My brain tends to wander, and today I was considering this ... what education level our brains on average retain information to.

People in other threads were talking about going back to school at a more advanced age, which I support and have done myself.

If you were a 45 year old man going back to undergrad for physics and your education and career was in say, accounting, then you'd be basically at the same level as all of the 18 year olds in your class. Probably even behind to an extent because they just have taken algebra, precalc, high school physics, etc.

If you returned to graduate school for many subjects, particularly those that build, such as STEM or linguistics, etc, I dunno, then obviously you'd be behind.

OTOH, if you returned to 5th grade, you'd be able to kick some serious a@@ without really hitting the books too hard.

Here's a sample 5th grade curriculum...

Homeschool Curriculum- 5th Grade

I'm pretty sure I could handle fractions to decimals and be able to rip through Mouse & the Motorcycle without too much stress. I'd have to barely crack open a book and I'm pretty sure most people are the same. We've retained that knowledge due to it's simplicity, and fundamental use in our everyday life.

So, what grade level do you think the average person is educated to?

Apologies if this thread is too ambiguous or has been covered before.

[Prickly Pear]

I'd say somewhere in high school for an average, but I think it would vary across subjects. But I think it depends on what the person does for a living and their skills. For an example, when I needed help in algebra, both of my parents said "We don't know, ask someone else." My mother got an associate's in Interior Design, and my father got a bachelor's in History.

But if I asked my uncle (electrical engineering major) for help he'd probably say, "Sure thing! And while we are at it, maybe I can help teach you some trig for the future."

So my parents don't really remember high school math too well. My uncle sure does. My father could tell me everything he ever learned in his geography classes in high school. My mother about her art classes.

But my guess would be senior year, since most of us don't use the advanced high school math (at least basic algebra), and English and reading comprehension skills hopefully solidified by then. But people bad at math might have to be at a lower level, but I think if most of us returned to senior year of high school we'd do pretty good.

[Coney]

The question is can older people learn completely new subject matter that they have never studied before. I think the answer is yes if throughout their lives they continued to learn new material. The more we learn, the more we can detect the patterns in various subjects and then apply this to comprehending new subjects. If you stop learning, whether through training at your job, self-enrichment, or attending school, I think you might lose the ability to analyze and retain data.

[eastmemphisguy]

The mind retains information that we use. Maybe a little trivia here and there, but not all that much compared with how much is taught. On the other hand, schools (ideally) indirectly teach the ability to think abstractly and the ability to communicate in a detailed and structured manner. That lasts longer and is more important.

[Ivorytickler]

I'd say early to mid college. If I went back now, I'd need a refresher in calculus, not so much physics but my chemistry is better today than it was when I was in college because I teach chemistry. Both of my dd's are taking calculus this year and I'm surprised at how fast it comes back. I have to look up many of the derivatives I once had memorized but it only takes me a few minutes to figure out what they're asking in a problem. My problem with helping my girls is I remember the later solutions not the earlier ones and I often jump to a solution that requires more calculus than they've had.

English I was never good at. I was early college when I graduated from college there. I'm thinking high school now.

I read somewhere that we forget 95% of what we learn if we don't use it. I believe it. But I also believe that once you learn something you can relearn it faster than you learned it the first time. In spite of not opening a chemistry or physics text in 10 I did very well on my teacher exams. My advisor was genuinely stunned at my scores. He told me he'd never seen scores that high in the ed college. I may be different than others though because I must understand to learn. I can't memorize. Once I understand something though I don't forget it. I may tuck it away in the recesses somewhere but I can usually coax it back out by retracing my steps through the logic.

[AmFest]

The more specific and technical the knowledge is, the harder it is to retain. I retain just about everything I learned through entry-level classes at college, probably through mid-level classes as well. Advanced stuff ... barely. I don't know if I even understood what I was learning.