I found this on another list. I found it interesting and thought I would share. I would probably spent a couple of years in the eight grade. > 1895 test to pass the 8th grade > ===================== > > Could You Have Passed the 8th Grade in 1895? ...Take a Look: > > This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, KS. USA. It was > taken from the original document on file at the Smoky 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 in cents per > 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 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, super. > 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. > > -------------------------------- > > Imagine a college student who went to public school trying to pass this > test, even if the few outdated questions were modernized. > > -------------------------------- > Gives the saying of an early 20th century person that "she/he only had > an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning!