[Winona Online Democracy]
I think one thing this test illustrates is how industrialization
and automation has made the fundamental knowledge of math
obsolete. This was a time that required education for survival.
Today, we do not need to know how to calculate the number of
bushels of wheat a wagon box 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft.
wide will hold (#2, Arithmetic section)--even if we substitute
"truck-bed" for "wagon box"; we have computers to figure that
out for us. I'm afraid this is indicative of our modern
cultural apathy concerning the minimal level of required
education in all subjects, especially given our
ultra-capitalistic society. After all, the ability to describe
the three most prominent battles of the Rebellion (#5, U.S.
History section) is superfluous in the pursuit of profit.
Lori Baumgardt
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
--- Craig Brooks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> [Winona Online Democracy]
>
> The following has been going around the Internet.
> My first thought was--
> This can't be for real??
> I didn't think it could possibly be true and checked with the
> Salina
> paper and then found
> this site which confirmed it is for real - (in fact - children
> took it
> in the 7th grade)--
> http://skyways.lib.ks.us/kansas/genweb/ottawa/exam.html
> With all the debate over public education, funding, grad
> standards,
> etc. this 19th Century test gave me cause to wonder---
> *************************
> 8th GRADE TEST
> We have all heard of someone who became successful with
> "only an 8th grade education". Well take a look at this: a
> copy of
> the actual test used in 1895 by one school system in Kansas.
> It
> certainly puts new meaning into the phrase - "only an 8th
> grade
> education."
>
> ------------ Could You Have Passed the 8th Grade in 1895?
> ...Take a Look:
>
>
> This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, KS.
> USA.
>
>
> It was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky
> 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.
> 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
> 50 cts.
> per bu., 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 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 m?
> 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 are, 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. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
> 3. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
> 4. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
> 5. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the
> Rebellion.
> 6. 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,super.
> 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 Fermandez, Aspinwall
> and
> Orinoco.
> 6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
> 7. Name all the republics of Europe and give 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.
>
>
> -------------------------- Imagine a college student trying to
> pass
> this test, even if the few outdated questions were modernized.
> ------------------------- Gives the saying of an early 20th
> century
> person that "she/he only had an 8th grade education" a whole
> new
> meaning!
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35
a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
----------------
This message was posted to the Winona Online Democracy Project.
Please visit http://onlinedemocracy.winona.org to subscribe or unsubscribe.
Please sign all messages posted to this list with your actual name.
Posting of commercial solicitations is not allowed on this list.
Report problems to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
