We wrote everything longhand. You were allowed 4 corrected errors per page; if you exceeded 4, you were required to rewrite the entire page. This sucked, but it definitely grinds grammar rules and spelling into you.
In my Freshman year of High School, the English teacher gave us a grammar test on the first day to see where we were. Two people passed [including me--I got one question wrong], but the bulk of the students failed.
I remember being surprised that so many of my long-time classmates could fail the test.
Consequently the teacher spent the first half of the year on grammar issues instead of other literary pursuits.