posted
I think I'm going to have to go back to Grade school.
REMEMBER WHEN our grandparents, great-grandparents, and such stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us passed the 8th grade in 1895? That's 1895.
This is the 8th grade final exam from 1895, KS, USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, KS, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.
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 2ft. deep, 10 ft. long, and 3ft. 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 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 on $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7%. 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%. 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, 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, 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 the 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 Orinco. 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.
posted
I'm with CY, I already took that exam. Passed but the grade was so low that I had to do summer school - in the KS heat! Posts: 3403 | From: Woodcliff Lake, NJ, USA | Registered: Dec 2000
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quote:Originally posted by ss_rs_z: Goes to show how times have changed eh?
WOW, it really does confirm the results of the long-time practice of 'the dummying down of America'. Those are tough! I think I may have only gotten a 3rd grade education in my entire 12 years (not including college of course). College is where I learned how to play darts and how to drink faster so my beer would stay colder. Posts: 878 | From: Hoffman Estates, IL | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
WOW! those are tough. Way back when I graj-ea-eated high skoool in 1985, we had some lernin to doo, but now I think its MUCH less. How kids can get through high school and not even know how to read or write is beyond me Posts: 1443 | From: Lake Oswego, Oregon | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
It's pretty sad watching the MAJORITY of people come into the bank and dont know how to do simple math! The dont fill their deposit/withdraw slips out thinking that "hey, he's the banker, he should know."
Being 22, it's pretty sad to see people around me that just dont care. But hey, just means it's that much easier for me to go to the top...less competition! Posts: 2651 | From: Enola (Harrisburg Area), Pennsylvania | Registered: Jan 2002
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