49 – What an Exam Looked Like in 1895 – Wow!
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? 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 and reprinted by the Salina Journal.
Grammar (Time, one hour)
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Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
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Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications
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Define verse, stanza and paragraph.
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What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of ‘lie,’ ‘play,’ and ‘run’.
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Define case; illustrate each case.
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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 hour 15 minutes)
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Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
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A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet Long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
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If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs, what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs for tare?
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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?
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Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
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Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7percent per annum.
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What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft long at $20 per metre?
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Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
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What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
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Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.
U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
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Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
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Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus .
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Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
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Show the territorial growth of the United States.
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Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
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Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
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Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
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Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.
Orthography (Time, one hour)
[ Do we even know what this is? ]
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What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?
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What are elementary sounds? How classified?
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What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
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Give four substitutes for caret ‘u’.
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Give two rules for spelling words with final ‘e.’ Name two exceptions under each rule.
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Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
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Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
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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.
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Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
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Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.
Geography (Time, one hour)
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What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
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How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
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Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
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Describe the mountains of North America.
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Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba, Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
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Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each..
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Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
