What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...

[Stone-Free]

This is the eighth grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas, 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.
Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

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, 1:25 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 lb.., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1050 lb.. 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 lb.. 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


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 wtf 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
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.


Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete. Gives the saying "he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning.

[advres]

It's all in how you study. Some teachers will give you before the test say 20 questions and say "you will find 8 of these on your exam". If that was the case, you study and pass with flying colors.

Also, it was a different time and they studied those things during school. I'm sure I would have got at least a B, as that was my standard MO in high school and college by paying attention and studying what was being taught.

*sorry to spoil the fun*

**but some of those questions were humorous**

[Dantheman]

That is so 1999

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

[The AD]

I agree with snopes. If that was the subject matter taught at the time, it wouldn't have been a difficult test to pass. Not to mention hardly any complex thought is required. It's basically all rote learning.

[Viva]

4. Describe the mountains of North America

I bet most of us could provide some interesting answers to this one.

[The AD]

I wonder if this answer would be acceptable:

"The ones in the eastern part of North America are sort of low and rounded. Then there's a big flat area in the middle, and then some tall jagged ones west of that."

[Free Range Lobster]

I'm sure your typical 8th grader today couldn't get half of those right.

God bless the public education system in the US.

[birdman829]

I'm sure your typical 8th grader today couldn't get half of those right.

God bless the public education system in the US.

I'm pretty sure at least 75% of adults in America couldn't pass that test, let alone 8th graders.

[Odin]

3 Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

For drinkin! For Swimmin!

Hell yeah paw I finished

NOW GIT IN THE FIELD FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!

[Griz]

I think there has been a big shift in educational philosophy since the dawn of the information age - in 1895 students were expected to know a whole bunch of info - today we expect students to know where to find info. Which is better? I think the verdict is out until historians in the future decide. What do you think?

[BLOOD SWEAT STEEL]

I'm pretty sure at least 75% of adults in America couldn't pass that test, let alone 8th graders.

Closer to 95%.

[cincystar]

The page is humurous but you really cant seriously compare the education system of today with that of 1895. Like others have said its all memorizing and rote learning, If I was actually in theat 1895 class Im sure I could ahve gotten a B...Lots of teachers are pretty clear as to what will be on the exam so it really only requires memorizing.

The math questions were all easy(if I knew how big a bushel of wheat was) and the other stuff is all stuff I would know....had I just taken that class a week ago..

[LegoSkier]

Sweet. 48 questions that fit on 1 page that if you reviewed the material recently you could regurgitate the answers without any real thoughtful analysis.

Or, if you are an 8th grader today in Virginia, 105 pages of stuff requiring analysis, decent comprehension, trig, volumes, probability, science that did not exist back then, and of course computer stuff. Lets see those 1895 hayseeds take that.

[davep]

I bet if those 1865 era 8th graders took a modern history test today, they'd totally fail it. Dumbasses.