Follow up on the Good Old Days

FAOL Community Sound Off
1

This is in our Lighterside:
February 11th, 2002

Educated?
Sent in by Robin Rhyne

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 have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 Salina, 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.

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 do, lie, lay and run.

  5. Define Case. Illustrate each Case.

  6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.

      1. 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 ft. 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. a 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 feet long at $20 per meter?

  8. Find the 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 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)

  1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?

  2. What are elementary sounds? How are they 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 inclination of the earth.

Gives the saying of an early 20th century person that “she/he only had an 8th grade education” a whole new meaning! How well
could you do?

LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL

2

Wow! And probably a goodly portion of kids in those days were in one room schools. My Grandma graduated from the U. of Denver in 1897 and, as I remember, she was one smart lady. (And for sure the best thing that ever happened to me.)

Snow on the roof but with fire still in the hearth

3

OK,so I feel really dumb!
Duh!

4

…I got a zero…I’m goin’ back to bed.

5

Ain’t no wonder they only went to the 8th, any more of that 'n their heads would explode.

6

Wonder if any of those 13 year old kids “aced” THAT test?..WOW!!!
Mike

7

Are you sure that was written in english?
I didn’t even understand half of the stuff
they wanted me to figure out. Makes one wonder
how smart they really are. Oh well. This test
does make one feel a little substandard though.

That being said… Lets fish.

8

No wonder they could tell such wonderful stories and carry on such interesting conversations in the twilight of summer evenings-- sitting on front porches across America surrounded by us grand kids and our folks. Same for the warm and witty cards and letters they could write to us at special times like birthdays, Christmas, and and just to say hello.

That’s how I remember it back when I was a little guy and they were still around. No TV yet back then. I miss the class of 1895!
Panfan

9

This test is probably not a test for 8th graders, but a teachers competancy test from that period. [url=http://www.snopes.com:2f357]www.snopes.com[/url:2f357]
Should make you feel a little better about not knowing all the answers.
hurly

10

The last time I was out on the Henry’s Fork it was about 100 rods to the mile… most were 9’

11

RW here,

I took the test and got every one right…and there is nobody here that can dispute me.

Later, RW

“We fish for pleasure; I for mine, you for yours.” -James Leisenring on fishing the wet fly-

12

RW, Is that because you are from Maine, and still routinely measure in rods and bushels? I bet you ain’t no “flatlander”…

13

Now what ya thinkin I’m a gonna say???

Spelling and Grammar not subject to judgement… :wink:

14

I got a couple rite. Now I gotta go back to see what ones they is. I wouldn’t have passed either.WHAT HAS HAPPENED?

Land Em’,
Carp

15

Holy Cow!
Thought I had the first math question in the bag and then it asks for “bushels” FOUL!!!
I know I got the one about “case” right- it’s what you put beer into.

Mark

I’d rather be in Wyoming!

16

Marco,
RIGHT!..Now I want you to draw me a pretty picture of an “Olde Frothingslosh” case!..you know, that was the beer advertised as “The beer with the foam on the bottom”!
Mike

17

Of course the 8th graders in the good/bad old days were better educated than those of today. They were more educable. The less so dropped out before they got to the 8th. I’d have never made it!

Nowadays we try to make professionals from those who would have flunked out before the 8th grade in the 1800s. What surprises me most is that we have had some success in this…especially in the field of education.

Ol’ Bill