Author Topic: Today's "Education"  (Read 4321 times)

Offline BLeafe

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Today's "Education"
« on: June 13, 2006, 01:35:01 PM »
This was forwarded to me by someone employed by the Hackensack School system:

<< Remember when our grandparents, great-grandparents, and such stated that they only had an 8th grade education?

Well, check this out.

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, KS, USA. It was taken from the  original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and  Library in Salina, KS, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.


8th GRADE FINAL EXAM


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, lay and run.
5. Define Case, illustrate each Case.
6. What is  Punctuation? Give  rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
7. 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 50cts/bushel, deducting  1050lbs. 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 meter?
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 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, sub vocals, 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, 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 &Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. 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.


Also notice that the exam took five hours to complete. Gives the saying "she/he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?

What happened to us? It is kind of humbling, isn't it? >>


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Offline BLeafe

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Re: Today's "Education"
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2006, 01:49:14 PM »
I should add that not all are in agreement about for whom this test was really intended and its relevance today.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/a/1895exam.htm

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.htm
Like music? Like photography? Step into my office: http://xrl.us/BobL - - - - - - - http://xrl.us/BobsDarkness