Are you as smart as your Grandparents?

E

(((echo)))

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

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?


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 b attles of the Rebellion.
7 Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name event s 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 incl ination of the earth.
 

dn0121

New Member
Urban Legends Reference Pages: 1895 Exam

This doesn't show what you posted is false. It is more about understanding why it is hard to answer.

I could take the same tests I took 10 years ago and would do a lot worse then I did back then. Reason is because school mostly tests memorization skills.

I agree though that public education has gone down hill though. Teachers are trying though, and some succeed. It is just a lot of kids deserve to not be in school, and should be sent away to an island to fend for themselves. :evil:
 
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toppick08

Guest
My father has always maintained that his parents were smarter than him. They (my grandparents) were born in 1900 and 1902 respectively. My father was born in 1938. He is a Univ. of Maryland graduate and still says his education was not what his parents got. God help us if we go through another Depression, but on the bright side it would weed out alot of crybabies(spoiled) that all of us encounter every day. It all goes back to the 4 r's which they don't teach anymore. Our great superintendent of schools in St. Mary's is a wolf in sheep's clothing,and a condenscending butthole. I hope he gets to Annapolis sooner rather than later, which is what he wants.
 
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toppick08

Guest
Thank you kindly, needless to say, I was not an English major.
 

cwo_ghwebb

No Use for Donk Twits
Our grandparents didn't rely on technology as much as we and our children do today. I believe they used their brains more to handle the everyday tasks in life. When was the last time you went to a store and the clerk can't give you change unless the register tells them the correct amount. (I luv to mess with their heads and give them bills and change close to the correct amount!)

Education today is more indoctrination than education. Basic courses are eliminated for 'feel good' courses or nonsense that befits a certain agenda only. Many educators say that want our young people to "analyze and think" but when they do and the outcome isn't what the educators expect (or demand) the child is punished for "incorrect thinking". I left the school system seven years ago and monitor my children's homework carefully to counter the indoctrination I see weekly.
 

Toxick

Splat
This doesn't show what you posted is false. It is more about understanding why it is hard to answer.

I could take the same tests I took 10 years ago and would do a lot worse then I did back then. Reason is because school mostly tests memorization skills.


:whistle:

Are you smarter than a fifth grader?
Get out a pencil and a piece of paper.
Teacher teacher now we're back in school!
So are you smart enough for the fifth grade?
 
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