Education Emergency?

[Gweener]

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, 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 "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, 65 minutes)

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 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 meter?
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 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, and 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour) (Do we even know what this is???)

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, and syllabication.
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, sub vocal, diphthong, cognate letters, and lingual.
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
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-, and 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.  

[ChainsawDooM]

That orthography stuff looks like it's all about the building blocks of the English language. A lot of that stuff like dipthongs is stuff I heard actually about in choir class in middle school. I think most of that ortography stuff went under the category of "not really important and borderline irrelevant." I do remember dipthongs and tripthongs... -thongs are basically combinations of vowel sounds in a word. In a dipthong, there would be two vowel sounds, while in a tripthong there would be three. I don't remember the name for a single vowel sound.

Word with single vowel sounds would be things like "what" (w-uh-t), or he (h-ee). dipthongs would be things like... "how" (h-ah-oo), or "tail" (t-ay-uh-l). Tripthongs are pretty rare in English... at least the rarest of the three. Examples of tripthongs could be "hire"(h-ah-ee-uh-r), or "boa" (b-oh-oo-uh).

If I had to guess, I'd say sub vocal stuff would be sounds you make without vibrating your vocal chords... like S, T, P, K, C, F, H, Q, and X...

All in all... I'd probably get 50-60% of this right if I was blind-sided by it... maybe. On a bad day, maybe 40%... especially with those Kansas specific questions. But that's a total blind-side.  

[Gweener]

Well,
I wouldn't stand a chance at passing this test. I'd have to do some serious studying to be prepared for this test.
And I deal with 7th & 8th grade curriculum pretty regularly. The students wouldn't even attempt this exam! Not that I could blame them.
But it shows how much the material has been "dumbed down" as the years have progressed.
What kind of future does this lead to if this trend continues!?
Other countries are so much more competitive in their education.
I don't believe many American students would even believe themselves capable of this much learning and understanding.
Somewhere, along the way, we have let down the youth and future of America.

 

[ChainsawDooM]

That's because we want to believe in the fallacy of equality, in that everyone is equal, when they aren't. Thus, they've dumbed down the educational system, while many other countries realize that people aren't equal, and have largely made their systems harder.

Now, while I say people aren't equal, I don't necessarily mean that individual people are better then others on the whole... people are just better at certain things... And... unfortunately I do believe that certain people are on average better than others... but not because of race and other crap... but because of what they do and what they can do. Everything can be either an advantage and a disadvantage... even wealth.  

[Gweener]

I know what you mean. I recently read an article that was pretty much presenting the question, would it be a bad thing to let those students that could learn faster, finish high school by 10th grade. Well, that certainly would open the door wouldn't it!?

Makes me think of the story about a society in which everyone was in some way made equal to everyone else, like the best dancers would be weighed down so that they wouldn't out shine any others, a loud high pitch sound would go off in a persons brain if they began to think too much, etc; only everyone was not equal because the shooter that took down the rebel did it in one shot. What is this I am remembering?  

[ChainsawDooM]

I remember that short story, but I also don't remember the name.

...hehe... they all flinched with the 21 gun salute...  

[LittleTnCo]

I completely and totally agree with you Gwee. Our country has gone to hell in a hand basket where education is concerned. I also agree with Chain about the equality part. Our govt. has succeeded in screwing us big time and we've pretty much let them get away with it; but complain about it at the same time.  

[Gweener]

Well, it's just my opinion, but I think Bush really messed up with that "No child left behind." (He was just giving the public something that sounded like what they wanted to hear, with no concern whether or not it was actually practical or functional!) Sometimes they need to do it until the get it right. And putting all the blame or pressure on the teachers isn't going to solve anything. They'll just be forced to pass everyone. Nope, kids today need to learn, just like everyone else, that there are always consequences; sometimes good, sometimes bad, and yes, sometimes undeserving; but we have to be tougher and rise above our obstacles and adversaries.
I loved Obama's speech to Congress. It did give me a sense of hope. But I really hope he's right when he said we Americans don't take the easy way, that we're not quitters. We have a history of that, but have we gone soft? I will remain optimistic, because I am patriotic. And I'd like to believe that my Grandfathers, Uncles, and cousins have fought for a worthwhile purpose. God Bless America.  

[LittleTnCo]

s**t! I'm so glad you said that Gwee. You and I sure think a lot alike. That is one of the reasons my son is suffering so much. He can't even fill out a damn stinking job application without having to stop and ask me or his dad for help every 5 minutes or so. He can't even do simple math equations without getting frustrated. And to top all that off; he actually got a High School Diploma. Even he knows that he didn't really deserve it; but they wouldn't let him stay behind.  

[Gweener]

Yep, they're so worried about what things look like on paper; about the numbers, that they're forget they are dealing with people! And in trying to make their resumes look better, they are failing our children. That is just not something we can accept.
Even though I didn't finish college, I am still in those classrooms doing what I can. I see so many falling through the cracks. It makes me sad. And then it makes me mad. So all I can do is what I can do help even if it's just a few or even one. Children today do not realise how important a good education can be for a successful future. And what a great privilege it is that we are guaranteed an education here in the good ole' USA. Even if all schools are not equal, it's not something to be taken lightly. Life is tough, and sometimes... we have to be tougher.
Most kids I sit and talk to don't even realise that school is more than something forced on you to fill your time, that it can open doors. I tell 'em all the time, work hard in school so you won't have to work so hard when you get a job. xd

I've got a girlfriend with a daughter that sounds like your son. Always struggled in school, especially math. And now she is really struggling in her community college. It's hard to make up what you've lost after so much time has past; and it seems like the teachers and even other students have past you up too. But it's not impossible! She's still giving it all she's got, and her mom is so proud.  

[Anii-Neko]

Wow- I know a girl in eighth grade... she still doesn't know how to tell time unless it's from a digital clock! No offense of course to the people who don't know how to tell time, but I'd like to see my friend finish this exam!! whee  

[LittleTnCo]

Hello Anii. I fed yur pet. hehe
A cute lil one he/she is.
It's nice to meet you.  

[Gweener]

Anii-Neko

Wow- I know a girl in eighth grade... she still doesn't know how to tell time unless it's from a digital clock! No offense of course to the people who don't know how to tell time, but I'd like to see my friend finish this exam!! whee

Oh no! Hopefully she can find someone that can explain it in a way she can understand. I remember when I was learning to tell time, and the teacher said maybe one day in the future we'd have all digital clocks, and I had such a hard time understanding, I wished they'd just do away with all the old clocks.
I also remember when I was very young and learning my numbers and thinking I was done when we reached 10! rofl  

[Vicious Mockery]

I don't get it. I mean one hour to write down all that stuff? Plus the other subjects. An eighth grade exam? Forgive me for being childish, but it's more like 9th or 10th grade stuff. I certainly won't pass this, not in the time provided.  

[Gweener]

I was shocked as well. It just concerns me that we are lowering the bar as years go by instead of pushing ourselves to reach our full potential.
Can you imagine how hard students in Japan or China are pushed?