8th grade class of 1895 final exam from Salina, Kansas

[Wheezer]

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, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.
8th Grade Final Exam: Salina , KS - 1895

FIVE hours to complete:
-

Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters..
2. Name the parts of speech More..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& nbsp;
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, f ain, 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.

 

[destrekor]

sweet jesus

Most college grads would cry taking that exam

edit:
wait a minute. They taught what a Meter was back in 1895 U.S.?

 

[dbk]

FAIL


...I would

 

[blinky8225]

Interesting. Looks like they took grammar a lot more seriously back then. I assume the volume of a bushel of wheat was common knowledge as well.

 

[Orsorum]

Snopesie snopes snopes! http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp

 

[Farang]

Let me check my spam box so we can all share

 

[OutHouse]

fake

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: dbk
FAIL


...I would

I wouldn't do well, that's for sure.

Cases? I've never been taught the actual cases of the English language in my life. At least, not describing them as cases. Rather, was taught how to use the language properly.

And that is one of the reasons I am struggling to learn Russian. In the classroom environment, it is very systematic and some people pick up the cases quick... after 4 classes I still haven't. I can't do that approach. Going to hunker down with Rosetta Stone until I finish that, then go back to the classrooms.
FML

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: Citrix
fake

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp

Pwned!

 

[Farang]

Dear Farang,

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My purpose of contacting you is for you to help secure the funds left behind by my late client,to avoid it being confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Finance House.Where this fund valued (US$19,628,000.00) Nineteen Million,six hundred and twenty eight thousand United State Dollars deposited by my client before his death in November 2004.

You might be wondering why am i communicating with you,believe it or not it is simply because you and my late client have the same surname.Though this is coincidental,I strongly believe,you could help me in the task which is the distribution of my late client's funds.

And the said funds in the Finance House is considered "UNSERVICEABLE"after my client passed away as there were no indication of next of kin whatsoever that the Institution could consider as a beneficiary for the said funds.

Being my late client's legal adviser,the Institution notified my office,that I need to produce and to contact the next of kin of my deceased client,to either "REACTIVATE" the account or to "MAKE CLAIMS" of the said funds which is carrying a monthly surcharge.

Now,my intention is purely to seek your consent to kindly present you as the legal next of kin/beneficiary to my late client's funds.This would mean that the proceeds of the said funds would be released to you.After the release of the funds to you,we shall then share it mutual,which will be 70% to me and 30% to you.

My office would provide documents to back up your claim.The most important thing I need is your honest/sincere cooperation in this task.And I assure you that this transaction will be legally executed according to the dictates of the law,which will protect you from any infraction of the law.

However,if this business proposition offends your moral ethics,do accept my sincere apology.If on the contrary you wish to achieve this goal with me,kindly get back to me with your interest immediately for further details.

Best regards,

Mr.Albert Chow (Esq.)

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Just imagine "the dream" those kids had...

"Last night I had a dream that I forgot how big a bushel of wheat was and failed the exam."

 

[rocadelpunk]

I could come up with any number of things that my current 8th graders do which no one from 1895 would be able to do.

 

[spunkz]

snopes doesn't say it's a fake test, just that they don't think it proves the drastic decline of education standards

 

[darkxshade]

I suppose if we handed our current 8th grade final exams to an 8th grader in 1895, they wouldn't be able to pass ours either.

 

[mugs]

I'd have nailed that exam, then I'd have nailed the teacher.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: spunkz
snopes doesn't say it's a fake test, just that they don't think it proves the drastic decline of education standards

That's what I was thinking. The 1 word summary says fake, but they don't explain the origin of the document.

 

[darkxshade]

Originally posted by: mugs
I'd have nailed that exam, then I'd have nailed the teacher.

Would nailing the teacher have anything to do with nailing the exam?

 

[Minjin]

Did you guys even read the Snopes article? It doesn't say that it's fake. It just says that it's not a valid tool for comparing the current state of education with that of 1895.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Originally posted by: darkxshade
I suppose if we handed our current 8th grade final exams to an 8th grader in 1895, they wouldn't be able to pass ours either.

True; I didn't see a whole lot of algebra or basic physics and biology on that exam.

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: spunkz
snopes doesn't say it's a fake test, just that they don't think it proves the drastic decline of education standards

Yup. Wow I didn't realize how snopes can be so 'tricky' that way (no sarcasm)

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: Orsorum

Originally posted by: Citrix
fake

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp

Pwned!

Wrong. Read the article. The test is not a fake.

 

[darkxshade]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: spunkz
snopes doesn't say it's a fake test, just that they don't think it proves the drastic decline of education standards

That's what I was thinking. The 1 word summary says fake, but they don't explain the origin of the document.

Assuming their exam is real... since then, advances in mathematics and sciences has created a broader range of subjects that students must now learn in school and due to time constraints, some things are bound to be cut from the original course curriculum.

Their math questions all seem to do with more practical situations like writing checks and calculating interest. I see no algebra, trig, or anything that current 8th graders learn.

US History is relative to time... in 1895, much of what we learn in US history hasn't even happened yet.

I'll admit, they got us beat in the grammar department but they were in a time ruled by the white man. As this country got more diverse from immigration, language is bound to go downhill when everyone bring their little language quirks with them.

Advances in sciences is bound to cause their geography classes to differ from ours as we learn with a more scientific approach. So they are more about knowing facts and we are more about experimenting.

I have no idea what Orthography is but it probably wasn't important enough and got replaced by foreign language.

 

[Xylitol]

Originally posted by: mugs
I'd have nailed that exam, then I'd have nailed the teacher.

with a hammer?

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: Orsorum

Originally posted by: Citrix
fake

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp

Pwned!

Wrong. Read the article. The test is not a fake.

but the point it makes is pretty spot-on.

 

[Hacp]

Give me the textbook and I'll ace the test.