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8th Grade Exam from 1895

Thread ID: 15282 | Posts: 9 | Started: 2004-10-12

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LlenLleawc [OP]

2004-10-12 01:30 | User Profile

Turns out those old folks who "only" had an eighth grade education weren't as deprived as modern culture thinks. I know college graduates who couldn't pass this test...and I've already checked.snopes.com, [url]http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.htm[/url] They admit this is a real test and not an internet hoax but they argue that the information on this test is not relevant to the modern classroom. I would partially agree that some of these questions cover archaic terms about language rules but it also shows that those old-time country bumpikins were anything but dumb. -LL

[url]http://www.jaredstory.com/8thgradeeducation.html[/url]

Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

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, Kansas. 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: 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 how 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./bushel, 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 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 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, 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 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.

OPERA96

2004-10-12 14:13 | User Profile

The Snopes URL that you provided indicates that this is a hoax. Maybe you should sign up for some remedial reading classes.

LlenLleawc

2004-10-12 16:54 | User Profile

The snopes site does not say specifically that it was a hoax. They label it as false because it does not prove that modern education is inferior to the old education as some who pass this around have claimed. I posted the snopes site to present a balanced view because I partially agree with snopes that some of the questions are archaic.

It is still an interesting test and I have two other sites claiming its real: [url]http://mwhodges.home.att.net/1895-test.htm[/url]

And the Kansas county where it originated: [url]http://skyways.lib.ks.us/kansas/genweb/ottawa/exam.html[/url]

Happy Hacker

2004-10-12 18:05 | User Profile

The test isn't so hard, if you had just finished the school year where all those items were taught.

Consider this: Your great grandpa may have walked a couple of miles to school in the snow, been warmed only with a wood stove once at a school, been taught by a teacher who maybe had no education beyond high school. Had no electric lights, computers, or federal funding. Yet, was still better educated than most of today's students.

Ponce

2004-10-12 21:11 | User Profile

The education system in the US is nothing but a joke, only thing that they are doing is to teach the kids how to be workers and nothing more.

Must of them can't even fill a job application with a high school diploma.

LlenLleawc

2004-10-12 21:55 | User Profile

HH - I think you're right; this test is not too hard, especially if you had been drilled in these subjects all year long. The thing that impressed me about this was the emphasis on civic pride and western heritage that shows through some of the questions.

For anyone else interested in the authenticity- If anyone takes time to read and mentally digest the snopes article, it should be clear that they are not questioning the authenticity of the test, they are only refuting the claim that this "proves" a decline in standards. I would generally agree this exam is not proof of anything, but I think it does show that one-room schoolhouses valued precise methods and put out some sharp kids.

Here is another good site that debunks internet rumors. It says this exam is authentic but doubts whether it was for eighth graders. Even so I think the emphasis on civic pride and so on make it interesting. [url]http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/a/1895exam.htm[/url] (yes, it lists this story as unproven but if you actually read the article it plainly says there is no reason to doubt the authenticity of the exam.)

LA Refugee

2004-10-13 00:09 | User Profile

All these subjects and more were taught in the McGuffy readers. I had a set for my kids when we lived in the middle of nowhere. These tests are similiar to those.

Faust

2004-10-13 03:02 | User Profile

LA Refugee

Yes the McGuffy readers are great; I learned to read with them.

heritagelost

2004-10-24 20:18 | User Profile

I've seen this same test before, but with documentation saying it was a 12th grade high school graduation exam from Kansas in 1895.