Got an 8th Grade Education? Then here is your final exam

[sdkfz]

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents 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 , 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.

http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb//ottawa/exam.html

To be fair there are some web sites that suggest the 8th grade aspect is not proven...

BTW - You have five hours to complete this.....
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, 65 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 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/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 the 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 of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

US History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which US 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, and 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, and syllabication.
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, sub vocal, diphthong, cognate letters, and 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-, and 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 US.
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.

[mbossman2]

even taking out the cultural pieces (ie the agricultural and the Kansas history) and you have one tough test, even for a college educated adult.

this goes to show you that education, it's priorities, methods and what is considered baseline knowledge has changed dramatically over the years.

(warning: Political comment next)

In my mind, this is evidence that the US public education system has become more about the system, administration and the supporting industries than it is about the kids and their education. Why? this is a topic better suited for www.forumclick.com

[HAL9000]

You know... a LOT of those questions, I went though similar questions when I went to school... INCLUDING almost ALL of the US History ones.

[David M]

Tough test. Keep in mind that a lower percentage of people went to high school then and a lower percentage of the population graduated from college then as well. I do tend to agree with the point that educational standards have been dumbed down.

[blue60007]

What?? They gave pratical questions?

[mairving]

According to Snopes, it is false.

Truth or Fiction lists it as unproven.

[mbossman2]

well....seeing that got crushed...

here is a real legitimate test given by a high school in my home town. It is an annual test given each spring.

not for a grade but for bragging rights

[HAL9000]

My favorite exam was from a bit of a wingnut chemistry teacher I had... you had to fit the proper chemical name into the sentence... the most memorable was;

Nick! Nick! Kick him in the ___________!

See if you can figure it out... not sure what it taught about chemistry, but it was funny.

[David M]

Originally Posted by HAL9000 My favorite exam was from a bit of a wingnut chemistry teacher I had... you had to fit the proper chemical name into the sentence... the most memorable was; Nick! Nick! Kick him in the ___________! See if you can figure it out... not sure what it taught about chemistry, but it was funny.

As? (Arsenic)

[HAL9000]

Yup

[Nuclear Krusader]

False or not, my elementary school final tests were actually harder than that.

[Jaggannath]

Originally Posted by mbossman2 well....seeing that got crushed... here is a real legitimate test given by a high school in my home town. It is an annual test given each spring. not for a grade but for bragging rights

Is there an answer page for this?? I answered it, but wouldn't mind knowing how I went.

Also, you've got to remember that were that true, it would be something they were taught specifically for the test.

[mbossman2]

Originally Posted by Jaggannath Is there an answer page for this?? I answered it, but wouldn't mind knowing how I went. Also, you've got to remember that were that true, it would be something they were taught specifically for the test.

you have a PM

[mbossman2]

here is the 2007 version: upper school, middle school and the answers
https://www.nicholsschool.org/ftpima...misc_46397.pdf

[Jester]

"77. In Greet Mythology a 3-headed ___________ named ____________ guarded the entrance to Hades."

Some one needs to proofread that test.

[Nuclear Krusader]

LOL. Must be a different kind of mythology.

[blue60007]

Originally Posted by Jester "77. In Greet Mythology a 3-headed ___________ named ____________ guarded the entrance to Hades." Some one needs to proofread that test.

Well... guards would "greet" anyone approaching the entrance.

[Icyman23]

it should look like this...

"77. In Greek Mythology, a 3-headed {"dog"} named {"Cerberous"} guarded the entrance to Hades."


Im very very sure that a large 3 headed dog would greet people.

[bailey]

heck, I don't remember being taught any of that stuff when I was in grade school.

[RevCLB]

We were before Greek mythology.

[bailey]

Originally Posted by RevCLB We were before Greek mythology.

oh, that explains it, thanks, I forgot.

[Dia]

Is this a retyped version of this exam or did they scan it? Because if they scanned it I see a big boo boo.

***************************************** 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 N.A. 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. 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. 1. Where are the saliva, gastric juice, and bile secreted? What is the use of each in digestion? 2. How does nutrition reach the circulation? 3. What is the function of the liver? Of the kidneys? 4. How would you stop the flow of blood from an artery in the case of laceration? 5. Give some general directions that you think would be beneficial to preserve the human body in a state of health. *********************************************

I wasn't aware that human biology was part of geography.

[bailey]

I always thought that geography was a very important part of the human body.

ya got to know the locations of the major parts