8th grade education ain't what it used to be...

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895? This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 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:
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 cents a 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 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)

English, Spelling, Grammar
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, lingual?

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, Yukon, St. Helena, 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.
 

tasslex

Senior member
Jun 1, 2001
342
0
0
Wow, that's quite a bit dated, but still rather difficult - I can't answer 3/4 of those questions now, not to mention when I was an 8th grader!
 

Aves

Lifer
Feb 7, 2001
12,233
31
101
Man times have surely changed. Those questions aren't that easy. Today you can pass 8th grade without knowing how to read. :(
 

huanaku

Golden Member
Jan 20, 2001
1,208
0
0
Whoah --- crazy. Honestly though, I think I would have done better in 8th grade than I would now. A lot of those questions were things that we studied. I've forgotten a lot now.
 

Capn

Platinum Member
Jun 27, 2000
2,716
0
0
I think it's important to note that in 1895 the country was a slight bit different than it is today. I would suggest that children matured faster, personal opinion I don't have any fact to back that up. Also, the number of people continuing on after 8th grade education would be a lot different. How much different is this list of questions from some kind of "life skills" class in Highschool?
 

GL

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,547
0
0
Actually, except for the American-specific questions I think I'd do OK in 8th grade. Of course, I've forgotten most of the details now but I know I "learned" it;)
 

desy

Diamond Member
Jan 13, 2000
5,447
216
106
Hmmm
Reading, writing and arithmetic.
If thats all you studied in grade 8 thats all you would know.
There is much more subject diversity today.
 

mrCide

Diamond Member
Nov 27, 1999
6,187
0
76
not very difficult.. it's a shame now all you need to do is count to 5 and you can pass graduate high school.
 

Demon-Xanth

Lifer
Feb 15, 2000
20,551
2
81
Most of those questions are applied knowledge.

Example:
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide.
    How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

You first must know the size of a bushel of wheat.


5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.

Can you be more specific?


"Look at these old tests" just aren't as relevant as people would like you to believe. Can I answer them all? No. Could these 8th graders tell me what the pythagorean theorem is? Probably not. And the "state the x rules of n" type questions are strictly interpretive and will vary by teacher.
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81


<< 5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.

Can you be more specific?
>>



Why? This is a general knowledge question. Answer it to the best of your ability and demonstrate your knowledge of the history of Kansas. If you have never had a question like this before, you need to question your own education...