Yes it was. I am of a certain age that we had a certain number of classroom hours as well as a certain number of hours behind the wheel with an instructor as well as certain number of hours in a car as an observer with an instructor.

We had book(lets) that we had to read from to learn the rules/laws of the road. There were quizzes/tests to be taken during those classes in order to pass the class. Once the class was passed, I then had to take a written exam issued by the state. That was followed by an actual driving test with a state official in the car.

So assuming based on my personal experience. I know the times have changed, and you no longer have to do silly things like learn how to drive or be required to wear shoes while driving in today's world.

To a first approximation, I'm skeptical that anywhere in the world a learning supervised driver gains sufficient on-road experience to to count as a skilled experienced driver. Clearly, different places make somewhat different tradeoffs with respect to licensing. However, I'll go out on a limb and say the majority of drivers with 5 to 10 years experience are better drivers than newly licensed drivers.