Sunday, October 28, 2012

1895 8th grade final exam


WHAAAHOOOO....there is NO WAY  I could pass this exam...how about you???



 


  
 This is really an eye-opener.



          
       
   
       
       
1895 8th  grade final  exam
       
   
    
    
    

    
           
1895 8th  grade final exam

Take this  test and pass it on to your more literate  friends..
         


What it  took to get an 8th grade education in  1895...
 
Remember  when grandparents and great-grandparents stated  that they only had an 8th grade education? Well,  check this out. Could any of us have passed the  8th grade in 1895?
 
This is  the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina  , Kansas , USA . It was taken from the original  document on file at the Smokey Valley  Genealogical Society
and  Library in Salina , 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 'lie,''play,' 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 hour 15 minutes)
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 3,942 lbs., what is it  worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 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  the cost of 6,720 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 metre?
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 acre, the  distance of 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)
[Do we  even know what this is??]
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.'  (HUH?)
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, sup.
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 Fernandez, Aspinwall and  Orinoco
6. Name  and locate the principal trade centers of the  U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give  the 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 the  inclination of the earth.
 
Notice  that the exam took FIVE HOURS to  complete.
 
Gives the  saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a  whole new meaning, doesn't it?!
             
           
No wonder  they dropped out after 8th grade. They already  knew more than they needed to  know!
         
 
 
No, I  don't have the answers! And I don't think I ever  did!
            
             
           
Have fun  with this...pass it on so we're
         
not the  only ones who feel stupid!!!

1 comment:

donald wayne said...

The school in Salina was probaly still a Dame school (a one room school) and the teacher was employing the lost tools of learning which included the Trivium and the Quadrivium (a classical education) which by that time already being replaced in this country by the Prussian Education system which was dedicated to making good little compliant slaves of us all. After it was fully implemented the only ones receiving a classical education were the children of the elite. Google the terms. Then, look for "The Ultimate History
Lesson" on YouTube. Then, if you're still interested go to triviumeducation.com for more. More on the trivium can be learned about the trivium by listening to podcast episodes 49, 50, 51 and 133 at gnosticmedia.com or at gnostic media at the iTunes store. We need to learn how to learn. The revolution we seek begins between our ears. Other sites worthy of your attention are "peacerevolution.org", "tragedyandhope.com and "schoolsucks.com