[leeman]

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

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 , 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 '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
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, 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 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.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?! Also shows you how poor our education system has become and, NO, I don't have the answers!

[PinesChic]

I'm not liking our school system more and more as the years pass. my 9.0 is in the 4th grade and comes home everyday with a shit load of homework. Not to mention the science project, and the 5 month long people fair project... that'll be over in February, thank GOD.

Teachers class are full to the max, they dont have enough time for every child, therefore relying more on the parents to help educate. Dont get me wrong, I'm not trying to back out of my responsibilities as a mother. I can say for us, all the added work sent home takes away from hockey, golf, family time, just everything.

I'm on the computer every night because I have to sit in front of him otherwise he gets distracted and spaces out after a few hours. He's in school all day, then home to be schooled all night. I dont remember school being this way. I think theres more to education then just books and drilling. I used to come home and do my homework and still have a life.

[Paddy]

You have 9 kids?

[BIRD33]

No wonder snarg thinks he's smarter than all of us.

[leeman]

No wonder snarg thinks he's smarter than all of us.

He's to old for that test....

[snarg]

exactly

[BIRD33]

I think he's still in 8th grade emotionally.

[PinesChic]

You have 9 kids?

1 son, age 9..

[WoolyGoat]

I think theres more to education then just books and drilling. I used to come home and do my homework and still have a life.

yeah, and you're a full-blown moron, so that clearly worked out well.

[Flumper Barflusterbutt]

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.

1. No idea.
2. He wanted to prove that there was a trade route to the west indies that could be navigated by traveling west across the Atlantic Ocean rather than south and around the southern end of Africa. He went to Ferdinand and Isabella, king and queen of Spain and convinced them and they funded his trip. He set sail with the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria and made landfall in the Islands near the Gulf of Mexico. He was greeted as a conquerer and returned to spain with many riches. He traveled back to the America's several times before his death.

3. Cause: The north wanted to abolish slavery which was crucial to the cotton and farming industries that were the main industry in the south. This led to a deep division between the politics of the north and the south. In efforts to force the south to give up the practice of slave labor, the south finally ceeded from the nation and formed the Confederate States. The north declared war on the south. Led by General Robert E. Lee the south fought for years to obtain their independence, but without the necessary money and products they depended on from the north, they were defeated in 1865. The war killed many americans and deeply divided the nation. Result: Slavery was abolished and the south was ravaged by the war. Cities had been destroyed, farms had gone bankrupt, and the north took advantage of economic ruin through out the south during the reconstruction period.

4. Pilgrims first established colonies in the Massacheusetts area. They grew toward the north and south, staying near the Atlantic shoreline. Eventually, the land was inhabited west toward the Appalachian Mountains. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson made a deal with France to purchase the Louisiana Territory. Lewis and Clark, at the direction of Jefferson, traveled the new area to the west and were soon followed by pioneers searching for new farmland. by the early 1800's settlers had found their way to California and in 1849, gold was discovered which led to a huge population migration to the west coast. Texas had gained its independence from Mexico in 1835 and was now part of the Union as well. I predict that Alaska and Hawaii will be added in 1959 as the final members of the union.

5. Kansas was settled in the early 1800's by farmers. It was windy as fuck, but corn seemed to grow good there. Later they learned how to play basketball and suck dicks. It is now ruled by Bill Self.

6. No idea.

7. Morse invented morse code that could be sent across telegraph wires. Whitney invented the cotton gin that changed the cotton industry. Fulton invented the locomotive. Bell invented the telephone. Lincoln abolished slavery and reunited the union after the devastation of the Civil War. Penn married Madonna and starred in High Times at Ridgemont High. Howe was born and later died.

8. 1607. No idea. 1620 pilgrims landed at plymouth rock. 1800 no idea. 1849 the south ceeded from the union. 1865 reconstruction began after the civil war.

I did not google or cheat.

[leeman]

I expected flump to answer all questions ....


Maby he hasn't graduated ....

[BIRD33]

1. No idea.
2. He wanted to prove that there was a trade route to the west indies that could be navigated by traveling west across the Atlantic Ocean rather than south and around the southern end of Africa. He went to Ferdinand and Isabella, king and queen of Spain and convinced them and they funded his trip. He set sail with the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria and made landfall in the Islands near the Gulf of Mexico. He was greeted as a conquerer and returned to spain with many riches. He traveled back to the America's several times before his death.

3. Cause: The north wanted to abolish slavery which was crucial to the cotton and farming industries that were the main industry in the south. This led to a deep division between the politics of the north and the south. In efforts to force the south to give up the practice of slave labor, the south finally ceeded from the nation and formed the Confederate States. The north declared war on the south. Led by General Robert E. Lee the south fought for years to obtain their independence, but without the necessary money and products they depended on from the north, they were defeated in 1865. The war killed many americans and deeply divided the nation. Result: Slavery was abolished and the south was ravaged by the war. Cities had been destroyed, farms had gone bankrupt, and the north took advantage of economic ruin through out the south during the reconstruction period.

4. Pilgrims first established colonies in the Massacheusetts area. They grew toward the north and south, staying near the Atlantic shoreline. Eventually, the land was inhabited west toward the Appalachian Mountains. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson made a deal with France to purchase the Louisiana Territory. Lewis and Clark, at the direction of Jefferson, traveled the new area to the west and were soon followed by pioneers searching for new farmland. by the early 1800's settlers had found their way to California and in 1849, gold was discovered which led to a huge population migration to the west coast. Texas had gained its independence from Mexico in 1835 and was now part of the Union as well. I predict that Alaska and Hawaii will be added in 1959 as the final members of the union.

5. Kansas was settled in the early 1800's by farmers. It was windy as fuck, but corn seemed to grow good there. Later they learned how to play basketball and suck dicks. It is now ruled by Bill Self.

6. No idea.

7. Morse invented morse code that could be sent across telegraph wires. Whitney invented the cotton gin that changed the cotton industry. Fulton invented the locomotive. Bell invented the telephone. Lincoln abolished slavery and reunited the union after the devastation of the Civil War. Penn married Madonna and starred in High Times at Ridgemont High. Howe was born and later died.

8. 1607. No idea. 1620 pilgrims landed at plymouth rock. 1800 no idea. 1849 the south ceeded from the union. 1865 reconstruction began after the civil war.

I did not google or cheat.

I don't believe it.

[Flumper Barflusterbutt]

I don't believe it.

swear. if i had i would have done all of them. some i had no idea about.

[Flumper Barflusterbutt]

I expected flump to answer all questions ....


Maby he hasn't graduated ....

Well, the math ones aren't very relavant. I have no idea without googling how much a bushel is, and I almost want to call bullshit on the guys having to convert something into meters.

I could calculate the interest on 7 months and 18 days, but would have to use a calculator.

I have no idea how long a rod is. I know there are 2000 pounds in a ton, so that one would be easy.

[BIRD33]

Well, the math ones aren't very relavant. I have no idea without googling how much a bushel is, and I almost want to call bullshit on the guys having to convert something into meters.

I could calculate the interest on 7 months and 18 days, but would have to use a calculator.

I have no idea how long a rod is. I know there are 2000 pounds in a ton, so that one would be easy.

PM sent.

[Flumper Barflusterbutt]

PM sent.

I thought A Rod was balck?

[quint]

this story is bs

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

[quint]

I thought A Rod was balck?

ask madonna

[Flumper Barflusterbutt]

this story is bs

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

Hmmm... doesn't say its bs. just says that its not a good way to dispute our education system of today. i think it actually substantiates that it could have been a test in 1865.

[snarg]

i don't think the revolutionary war was the same as the civil war
of course, i was pretty young in those days