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Test to pass the 8th Grade in 1895

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  • Test to pass the 8th Grade in 1895

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    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 , KS , 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, 1.25 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 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 the 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 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, t! he distance of which is 640 rods?
    10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a R eceipt

    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 State s.
    5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas .
    6. Describe three of the most prom inent 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 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.
    This isn't funny is it? Feeling cheated?
    You should be asking yourself some hard questions about now.
    What were you being taught in school?


    Randy
    Remember to be kind to your mind ...
    Tesla quoting Buddha: "Ignorance is the greatest evil in the world."

  • #2
    Public school can not be reformed.

    Study: Rules and Regulations Are Paralyzing U.S. Schools Publication date: 03/01/2005, so of the article at this link is quoted below.

    Common Good provides flowcharts to illustrate how convoluted procedures have enveloped previously routine decision-making tasks and transformed them into daunting marathons for schools. For example:

    * To suspend a disruptive student can involve as many as 66 steps and legal considerations that can take 105 days to complete.

    * If the disruptive student is a special education student, suspension for up to 45 days can involve up to 35 additional steps and legal considerations that can take months to complete.

    * To fire an inept teacher can involve up to 83 steps and legal considerations that can take a year to complete. (See flowchart on page 15.)

    * Just to put a note in an inept teacher’s file can involve up to 32 steps and considerations.

    * To fill a teacher vacancy can involve up to 38 steps and legal considerations that can take months to execute.

    * To conduct an athletic event can take up to 99 steps and legal considerations that detail the particulars of everything from who can coach the team to the size of ear flaps on helmets.

    “The demands of excessive paperwork are taking precious time, money, and attention away from education nationwide,” said Paul Houston, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, in a statement accompanying the report. “Ultimately, it’s the achievement potential of our students that suffers.”

    ...
    The study, titled “Over Ruled: The Burden of Law on America’s Public Schools,” found more than 60 separate sources of laws and regulations governing the operation of a typical public high school in New York City, imposing thousands of specific obligations on school officials.

    The sources of regulation include the following:

    * 846 pages of New York State education law;

    * 720 pages of regulations from the New York State Commissioner of Education;

    * 690 pages of the No Child Left Behind Act;

    * 309 pages of the New York City teachers’ contract and memorandum of understanding;

    * 200+ pages of regulations controlling student discipline; and

    * 43 volumes of appeals decisions--totaling 15,062 decisions--made by the New York State Commissioner of Education.
    $0.66 of every dollar spent on education is for administrative tasks, paper pushing, forms being filled out, NOT FOR TEACHING. Not for teachers, student materials, buildings, utilities, etc.

    Flow Chart (see Other flow charts links below this flow chart):



    Other flow chart links:
    How Do I Replace a Heating System?
    How Do I Suspend A Disruptive Student?
    How Do I Suspend a Special Education Student For Up To 45 Days?
    How do I Conduct an Athletic Event?
    How Do I Fill a Teacher Vacancy In My School?
    How Do I fire an Inept Teacher?
    Remember to be kind to your mind ...
    Tesla quoting Buddha: "Ignorance is the greatest evil in the world."

    Comment


    • #3
      I could not pass the 1895 8th Grade final today. Don't think I could have back in 8th grade either.

      Wow!


      Your flow chart was amazing. I have believed for many years that public schools cannot be reformed, with that one chart you have given me some "hooks" to hang that belief on.

      Amazingly crazy what we have devolved to.



      Kevin

      PATHS For Healing
      Energetic Science Ministries
      Meditation at the Click of a Button, Guaranteed!


      ESM Forum Support Link

      Comment


      • #4
        Great thread

        Rats.. I was gonna say: "I bet they didn't know how to roll joints one-handed back then, though! "

        ... But then i remembered they used to roll their own tobacco cigs so they prolly did anyway ;(

        Game, Set, and Match to the 19th Century.

        Sometimes i think that the demise of our educational system is so complete, so disastrous, that it couldn't all be just sloth and ineptitude... That it is at least partially "by design". Why would they want us "stupid", though? Who does that benefit?

        Recently i have read about a movement to change most colleges to "3 years" instead of "4 years" in the U.S. ; and focus more on job skills training, and less on the peripheries that are designed to grow students' critical thinking skills.

        washingtonpost.com

        Hmm... Seems to me like providing only "B"-grade college degrees to people in the middle class is more along the lines of another form of social stratification... And a means of lessoning the chances of Upward Mobility.

        Considering that the amount of money now given for people of the "lower classes" to get college degrees is a small fraction of what it was 30 or even 50 years ago... We are left with the impression that things like "The G.I. Bill" and "Affirmative Action" tied to generous grants (which were highly successful at giving upward mobility to millions who would not have had it otherwise), were experiments that "someone" decided were "failures".

        They were not "failures": The generations that took advantage of such opportunities were the most innovative, productive, and successful of any in our history.. Adding "New Blood" to the "old blue blood" was a great boost to our country's competitive ability.

        Barak Obama could probably not go to college today (except for a 2-year Community College); if he was a teen nowadays. Neither could several other peeps i know who grew up in the 60's & 70's . Even me, who was fortunate enough to have my night Bachelor's EE Program paid by my employer back in the early 80's... Would find it much harder to have that "perq" available today.

        Comment


        • #5
          Wow!

          Kevin, join the club! I don't think I learned most of that stuff in School! Hmmm...

          As far as a four year degree goes... It really does only take three years, or at least it only took me three years! And left me with almost 50,000 in debt to pay back, even with all the grants! So, I did 4 years in 3 and graduated at the top of my class, and I still could not pass the 8th grade final in 1895! Just when I was starting to think I was pretty smart... LOL!!

          My grandpa only had an 8th grade education, and yet he could help me with all my homework! I have to admit, I can not help my daughter with all her homework today, after graduating college! My kids have school much tougher than I did, and yet not close to what my grandpa had. What I have been able to teach my kids, is to be creative! Now if I just understood Algebra!

          Really, college is what you make of it! For me, graduating in three years at the top of my class... Does not say anything about smarts, but about work ethic, and dedication to my art. Also, I took this really cool study skills class that taught me how to get A's easily!

          Wow is all I have to say!
          Blessings Sallyjane

          Comment


          • #6
            ANSWERS to the test !!

            8th Grade Test From 1895 -Answers
            8th Grade Test From 1895 -Geography Answers

            Please do take the time to look around the web site.
            oodles of information

            Enjoy
            love and light
            randy
            Remember to be kind to your mind ...
            Tesla quoting Buddha: "Ignorance is the greatest evil in the world."

            Comment

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