> Could You Have Passed the 8th Grade in 1895?
> …Take a Look:
>
> This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, KS. USA.
> It was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley
> Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, KS and reprinted by the Salina
> Journal.
>
> 8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS - 1895
>
> Grammar (Time, one hour)
> 1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.
> 2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no
modifications.
> 3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.
> 4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of do,
> lie, lay and run.
> 5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.
> 6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
> 7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that
you
> understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
>
> Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)
> 1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
> 2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many
> bushels of wheat will it hold?
> 3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cts.
per
> bu., deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
> 4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary
> levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104
> for incidentals?
> 5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
> 6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
> 7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20
> per m?
> 8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
> 9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per are, the distance
around
> which is 640 rods?
> 10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.
>
> U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
> 1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
> 2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
> 3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
> 4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
> 5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
> 6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
> 7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln,
> Penn, and Howe?
> 8. Name events connected with the following dates:
> 1607
> 1620
> 1800
> 1849
> 1865
>
> Orthography (Time, one hour)
> 1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography,
> etymology, syllabication?
> 2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
> 3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph,
> subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
> 4. Give four substitutes for caret ‘u’.
> 5. Give two rules for spelling words with final ‘e’. Name two
exceptions
> under each rule.
> 6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
> 7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: Bi,
> dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono,super.
> 8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and
> name the sign that indicates the sound: Card, ball, mercy, sir,
> odd,cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
> 9. Use the following correctly in sentences,
> Cite, site, sight,
> fane,fain, feign,
> vane, vain, vein,
> raze, raise, rays.
> 10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation
> by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.
>
> Geography (Time, one hour)
> 1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
> 2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
> 3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
> 4. Describe the mountains of North America.
> 5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver,
> Manitoba,Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fermandez, Aspinwall and
Orinoco.
> 6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
> 7. Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of each.
> 8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same
> latitude?
> 9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the
> sources of rivers.
> 10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the
earth.
> ---------------------------------------------------
>
> Imagine a college student who went to public school trying to pass this
> test, even if the few outdated questions were modernized.
> ----------------------------------
> Gives the saying of an early 20th century person that “she/he only had an
> 8th grade education” a whole new meaning!
>
>
> I dont’think I could pass this. If it’s authentic…
Me, yes. You, apparently you have your doubts?
I was stunned that they alloted a total of FIVE HOURS.
Today, we wouldn’t get nearly that much time – maybe 2 minutes per question. Presumably, we all silently answered the questions as we read, and I doubt it took any of us much more than 10 minutes to answer the 45 questions.
Add another 15 minutes per short essay, and the whole test should take under 60 minutes. For a “real” test, I might be willing to allot 90-120 minutes, but certainly no more.
I went to US public schools (in Georgia and Massachusetts). I recall this material being covered. For all my criticism of the US educational system, I can’t blame a school if its students neither care nor remember much after the quiz is over. Learning is a lifetime skill.
I’ve known many college educated parents (my multiple doctorate father was one), who couldn’t help their children with their homework. I think that’s disgraceful.