Could You Have Passed The 8th Grade in 1895?

Probably Not...Take a Look: This is the 1895 eighth-grade final exam 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, 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 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.

Health (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Where are the saliva, gastric juice, and bile secreted? What is the use of each in digestion?
2. How does nutrition reach the circulation?
3. What is the function of the liver? Of the kidneys?
4. How would you stop the flow of blood from an artery in the case of laceration?
5. Give some general directions that you think would be beneficial to preserve the human body in a state of health.

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I'm going to be honest, I would have failed everything with my current knoweledge except for U.S. history, arithmetic and geography.

Times have changed since 1895, much to the chagrin of Kansans! 
However, I like that 8th grade test.  It's pretty darn nifty.  I wish all eighth graders could pass a test of comparable rigor today.
I couldn't perform at that academic level in the early '80s, and I'd need some time to study before I could pass such a test at present. 
Remember, the percentage of pupils who graduated the eigth grade and went on to high school 110 years ago was significantly lower.  I hesitate to wager a guess.  I'd have to do some research to come up with figures.  The percentage of people in 19th century America who were completely or functionally illiterate was far higher than it is today.  I'm wouldn't be surprised if a higher percentage of Americans have some level of college education today than the percentage who graduated high school in the 1890s.
Knowlege and information are also a much different deal today. For instance,  if you were a farmer, a store clerk, or a craftsman in 1890s Kansas, you had better know how to calculate arithmetic in your head!  There were no pocket calculators.  There were primitive adding machines, and maybe the banks in the city had them, but not you!
It is important to remember the store of human knowledge has more than doubled in the past century.  If a kid from 1895 arrived in 2005 America in a time machine, he'd go insane in a matter of days. 
Studies have consistently found verbal and narrative thinking is on the wane from yesteryear, but spacial and visual thinking is much more acute than in the days of our forebears.  Think about the skills it takes to negotiate a superhighway, to play video games, to watch television and hold a conversation at the same time.  We take a lot of this for granted.
I'm rather conservative when it comes to education, however.  I would like to see students graduate from school with a more solid foundation in the "three Rs."  Conservative education reformers always stress math and science, and of course these disciplines are vital.  Just ask me, I'm innumerate even though I went to a "good" suburban high school.  I believe there should be more emphasis on history, philosophy, music, rhetoric, theater, and art.  I value "diversity" and "multiculturalism" in education but either "ism" without discipline and vigor falls just as flat as does the old-timey "dead white males" curriculum

what age are 8th graders?

what age are 8th graders?


I don't know if it was the same in 1895, but in America today it's on average between 13 and 14 years old.  There are a few exceptions for students who skipped a grade or two for achievement or have been held back for lack thereof.

I don't know if it was the same in 1895, but in America today it's on average between 13 and 14 years old.  There are a few exceptions for students who skipped a grade or two for achievement or have been held back for lack thereof.


I thought it would be about that age but just wanted to check.

At 14 I could answer most of the arithmetic questions (apart from not understanding the units so assume conversion to something modern day here).  Number 4 I can't understand what is being asked here.

I wasn't taught grammar at school so I could probably only answer part of one question.  Obviously I wasn't taught US history in great detail but could have had a fair stab at similar British history questions.  Likewise geography.

I have no idea what orthography means but I could answer one or two questions in that section.  I could have answered most of the questions in the health section too.

I don't see a problem with the test as long as the material was covered in class.




Cat

I don't see a problem with the test as long as the material was covered in class.




Cat


I think GWB's point was that this sort of stuff is no longer taught in class.

I think I would do okay....except for the History part :-[



The history part is what I would do the best on.  ;)




Cat