We have gone down hill

[Limey Linda]

See below. 8th grade in the USA is 15/16 year old. Amazing!!!

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

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, lay and run
5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.
6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
7. 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 50cts/bushel, deducting 1050lbs. 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 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
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, sub vocals, 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 & 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.

[John Kennett]

http://www.snopes2.com/language/document/1895exam.htm

[Limey Linda]

Thanks JK

[John Kennett]

Although, to be fair, in this case snopes doesn't seem to have come up with any real evidence that it's not true. I'm surprised they have listed it as "false" rather than "unproven"!

John

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by John Kennett

Although, to be fair, in this case snopes doesn't seem to have come up with any real evidence that it's not true. I'm surprised they have listed it as "false" rather than "unproven"!

John

Yup. Snopes doesn't even try to establish whether (or not) this test was used for grade 8 graduation (or perhaps high school graduation). The basis for their 'false' categorization is that they feel the test is irrelevant to todays needs.

I can't help but think that the snopes explanation was written for them by some head of a teacher's union who vehemently opposes standardized testing. That is the ultimate nightmare for the socialists of the public education system (at least here in Canada) since it might expose mediocre teachers and schools, and even worse, ( ) require them to perform at a higher level.

[pathalla]

Being a logical thinker I believe a good way to get perspective on this would be to post up a comparative example of the current cirricullum, tests. Might that not expose deficiencies? Today's world is so much more complex, it may also be difficult to draw comparisions, no one has time any longer to be so well versed in the complexities of the English language, we have such a technological world. If I have any say in it my daughter will be studying computer science or biology since she has keen interest in both arenas at eight years of age.
Opinions??
Any other fathers out there with young children?

I might also add that if children read frequently the printed word will teach them much regarding english, and in turn much, much more. My kid is pretty wordy.
This equipment we are all using right now (computer) is teaching them much more effectively than a teacher in a classroom for better or worse. I have a hard time getting my daughter off the damn pc, she loves using it. It is pretty humbling when you get a new pc (mac) and your eight year old catches on as fast or faster with a new operating system. Children are a sponge, give them opportunity, they will learn, RAPIDLY...