<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <div> <div> <div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Subject: Fwd: Re: 8TH GRADE EDUCATION in 1895<o:p></o:p></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> <o:p></o:p></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> 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?    Imagine this..<o:p></o:p></div> </div> <div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> </div> 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.  > > > >  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, doesn't it?!  > > > > Also shows you how poor our education system has become!   > And no, I don't have the answers. </body> </html>