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Remember when our grandparents, great-grandparents, and
such stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well,
look at this. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in
1895?
(LOOK CLOSELY... THAT'S EIGHTEEN NINETY FIVE)
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in 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
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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. 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/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 cost of 6720 Ibs. 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 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, 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 the inclination of the earth.
Also notice that the exam took six hours to complete.Gives
the saying "he only had an 8th grade education"
a whole new meaning, doesn't it?
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