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Could You Have
Passed the 8th Grade in 1895?
This is the 8th grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, Kansas.
It was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley
Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas, and reprinted
by the Salina Journal.
Imagine a college student who
went to public school trying to pass this test today, even if
the few outdated questions were modernized. This gives the saying
of an early 20th century person that "She/He only had an
8th grade education" a whole new meaning!
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, one hour)
1. Name and define the Fundamental
Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 feet deep,
10 feet long, and 3 feet wide. How many bushels of wheat will
it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs
3942 pounds, 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 cents per sq. foot?
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. 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 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: Ball, mercy, sir, 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.
Answers
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