This is an urban legend, which really makes me feel way less stupid.

See:

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.htm

Nick Honerkamp



-----Original Message-----
From: UTC Staff E-Mail List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
James Russell
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2006 1:25 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [UTCSTAFF] Fwd: Fw: 8 grade test

>One of my  older students sent me this. If we were to administrate 
>to our students, they would flunk. I would probably also--unless I 
>graded my test.


Mike Russell

>
>
>Check out this eight grade exam from 1895.
>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 -18 95
>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.& nbsp;N ame 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, the distance of 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 resu lts&nb sp;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&nbs p;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,< 
>BR>Hec la, 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 educat ion"&n 
>bsp;a whole new meaning, doesn't it?! Also shows how
>poor our education system has become...
>
>
>
>
>
><http://www.incredimail.com/index.asp?id=54475>


-- 
James M. (Mike) Russell
Professor & Head
Department of History
Dept. Mail Code #2052
University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
Chattanooga, TN 37403

Phone: 425-4579
Home: 517-0645

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