Completely missed that post, I apologize.
In that case, yes, it's a gritty element that the Jedi are militarizing children entrusted to them otherwise, which creates a setting for a very long, bloody war and a crushing galactic depression. Is what it is.
Forgive me but I cannot find Brandon saying anything along the lines of "Padawan rank was abolished." He just jumps in to the practicalities of starting characters at Knight instead. Am I missing something?
Could it not be that at that period, the training regimen was not yet fully developed as we know it? If anything it would be a great explanation for the existence of the exiles and consequence of the conflict.