[Winona Online Democracy]
Looking at the questions on this test it is apparent that it was intended
that the young people taking this test would be prepared to take their place
in the community as adults. They would be able to double check the elevator
manager when they sold their grain, know if the banker was trying to cheat
them on a loan, and be able to figure how much lumber they'd be needing when
it was time to build a new barn. These were adult situations and entirely
appropriate, since, upon completing eighth grade most people were done with
school and expected to go to work in the adult world.
We don't have such high expectations for our youngsters any more. We refer
to people in their mid-twenties as "college kids" and make excuses for them
our great-great grandparents wouldn't have made for eight-year-olds. More
than anything else this test shows how far we've infantalized our young
people and our culture.
Perhaps we should consider the likelihood that our school day, school
year, and expected period of formal education are all too long. Is our
education system structured to give young people the skills and information
they need to be productive adults or to provide secure and remunerative
employment for teachers, administrators and professors of education?
Enquiring minds want to know...
-----Original Message-----
From: Craig Brooks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: onlinedemocracy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Sunday, February 18, 2001 10:57 AM
Subject: [Winona] 8th Grade Test from 1895
>[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!
>
>
>���
> \0/
>
>
>
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