And today they pass uneducated kids just to get them out of the way for a crop of new kids that may be just as poorly educated. To bad most people can't why we are going down. "Ward, Marsha" wrote: > > Hi, > I found this and thought you all might find it interesting! > > enjoy, > Marsha > *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* > > Could You Have Passed the 8th Grade in 1895? ...Take a Look: > > This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, Kansas. It was > taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical > Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and reprinted by the Salina Journal. > > 8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, Kansas - 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 cts. > per bu, 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 inch? > 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, and 1865? > > Orthography (Time, one hour) > > 1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phoneticorthography, > 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 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. > > -------------------------------------------------- > Imagine a college student who went to public school trying to pass this > test, even if the few outdated questions were modernized. Imagine their > professors even being able to pass the 8th Grade. Can Americans, student and > professor alike, get back up to the 8th Grade level of 1895? > ---------------------------------------------------