things have changed plenty since 1979.
test is on a computer with a touch screen, can skip questions to do later, once you get 80% of the questions correct the test ends and you pass, even if there are still unanswered questions. Or ends and you fail once you get 20% wrong. Can take it once per day though and 3 times before needing to pay for a new permit. Then you gotta wait a week or two before you can do the road test. Air Brakes are a separate test as well. Plus, nowadays gas costs more then a gumball and we don't have to crank start engines. Hazmat has gotten really strict since 9/11, and sometime this year, the test is being restructured to have more questions. Doubles and Triples will need their own road test later this year as well.