Wonder if any child was left behind?

[Commercialfarmer]

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895. Students were given 5 hours to complete the test.


8th GRADE FINAL EXAM

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, lay and run
5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.
6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
7. 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 50cts/bushel, deducting 1050lbs. 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 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 Americaby 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, sub vocals, 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, 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 & Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europeand give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coastcolder 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.

 

[dun]

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

 

[Commercialfarmer]

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

Read the "Claim" again. Short version, is that it states this test demonstrates a shocking decline in standards- then they go into a bunch of opinion as to why they believe it doesn't demonstrate this decline.

They never claim that the test was not an actual test. But the way it is written leads you to believe this.

And this again demonstrates that snopes is really just about being sneaky weasels trying to curve public opinion.

 

[john250]

BTW, when I was a kid we got today off school. Feb 12 Lincoln's Birthday. As well as Feb 22 Washington's birthday. Now there's a combined President's Day. How is that Progress?

 

[CottageFarm]

I, too, noted that Snopes did not disprove the legitimacy of the test (or even attempt to do so). I haven't had any confidence in snopes for several years, so their rebuttal means little to me. While their argument may seem convincing on the surface, if the test is legimate, it still does not address that children are not now, nor have they been for a very long time, taught these things in school. Yes, children are taught to the test, and there are many (MANY) things that I knew in elementary school, that I can no longer remember. However there are numerous questions on that test that I do not now, nor have I ever, known the answers to. :frowns:

That being said, I do take issue with question 7 in the arithmatic section. I'm pretty sure sure they would not have been purchasing lumber by the metre, we don't even do that now. And if by chance you had a wayward European writing this test, who was temporarily confused about metric vs imperial standards of measure, I feel confident $20 / metre is also farfetched for 1895. I am willing to accept that it may have been an error in translation at some point, as the test on snopes is by the inch. But that wouldn't be as likely as board foot pricing either. It's enough to raise a bit of a red flag for me, so I come away from it curious, but not fully convinced as to it authenticity.

 

[Bigfoot]

I doubt many people would do well on that test.

 

[Dave]

That being said, I do take issue with question 7 in the arithmatic section. I'm pretty sure sure they would not have been purchasing lumber by the metre, we don't even do that now. And if by chance you had a wayward European writing this test, who was temporarily confused about metric vs imperial standards of measure, I feel confident $20 / metre is also farfetched for 1895. I am willing to accept that it may have been an error in translation at some point, as the test on snopes is by the inch. But that wouldn't be as likely as board foot pricing either. It's enough to raise a bit of a red flag for me, so I come away from it curious, but not fully convinced as to it authenticity.

That question 7 gives the length and width of the boards but not the thickness. You would need all three to determine the board feet. And the metre makes it an incomplete question. Do they want the answer for a square metre, a lineare metre, a cubic meter?????

 

[CottageFarm]

That being said, I do take issue with question 7 in the arithmatic section. I'm pretty sure sure they would not have been purchasing lumber by the metre, we don't even do that now. And if by chance you had a wayward European writing this test, who was temporarily confused about metric vs imperial standards of measure, I feel confident $20 / metre is also farfetched for 1895. I am willing to accept that it may have been an error in translation at some point, as the test on snopes is by the inch. But that wouldn't be as likely as board foot pricing either. It's enough to raise a bit of a red flag for me, so I come away from it curious, but not fully convinced as to it authenticity.

That question 7 gives the length and width of the boards but not the thickness. You would need all three to determine the board feet. And the metre makes it an incomplete question. Do they want the answer for a square metre, a lineare metre, a cubic meter?????

:nod: Yes, I was remiss in mentioning that the thickness was not provided. I was going with the idea that they were quoting lineal pricing, which also doesn't sit right with me. BF seems like the more common standard. That's why the phrasology of the whole question raised a red flag for me. I don't want to nitpic, but...... :lol:

 

[Commercialfarmer]

CF,

Thanks, I didn't catch that. I read a different web site last night that had a different $ amount and just searched and copied this today thinking it was the same one.

Dave, I don't know unless there was a standardization the class used. The transcript below just states m? But I wonder if there was a transcription error and it may have been m2?

Here is the original transcription from the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society.

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

Got that website from here: http://grandfather-economic-report.com/1895-test.htm

*Sources - this exam information was sent to this author on February 12, 2001 by [email protected], a reader of this Grandfather Economic Report series. Another confirmation regarding authenticity > Sept 2003 email from Dionee Schwenke of Cape Coral, Florida ([email protected]), who is writing a book about her teaching career and researched the above exam: "I know the test reflects what was in the textbooks of that era, and that it is similar to the test my mother had to take in the 1920s before she could be certified in Nebraska. I confirmed the authenticity of the test you mentioned by the old fashioned way, picked up the phone. First to Mary McIntyre at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society & Library, 785-825-4624 (got that info from a query to the Salina newspaper). Ms. McIntyre assured me the test was fact, not fiction, and told me it had been written by J. W. Armstrong, the superintendent of Salina County schools in 1895. They even have on record the names of students who took the test--and the answers--but they can't divulge that info because of privacy laws. Then she gave me the name of his granddaughter, Mary Laas. 785-825-5140. Mrs. Laas was fun to visit with; told me about growing up across the section from her grandfather; how the family still has the hand written notes her grandpa made as well as a typed copy; how his family once nursed Buffalo Bill back to health. . . I asked about needing permission to include the test in my book and she said go ahead, it is public property now that it has run in the newspaper. They have had a lot of calls in Salina, not just at the Laas home but at the Genealogical Society as well."

Another good reference is the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society's (Salinas, Kansas) web site > http://skyways.lib.ks.us/kansas/genweb/ ... smoky.html. You will note on that site a link "1895 School Exam" which takes you to the test shown above at > http://skyways.lib.ks.us/kansas/genweb/ottawa/exam.html

One thing that does amaze me, is how well so many individuals from the older generations did in life with limited formal education. One grandad only had a 3rd grade education, because he had to work on the farm. I would have never guessed that, pretty bright man. A good friend's grandad made it to the 4th or 5th grade, and had to quit. He read constantly throughout his life and taught himself calculus and could speak intelligently on about any subject you picked.

Guess it is just a difference in want to compared to people today.