8th Grade Test 1895
Could You Have Passed
the 8th Grade in 1895?
In 1885 the 8th grade was considered upper level education.
Many children quit school as soon as they could master the basic
fundamentals of the 3 R's (reading, writing and arithmetic). Most never
went past the 3rd or 4th grade. That's all you needed for the farm and
most city jobs. Child labor laws were not in existence. Additionally
today's education has much more focus on technology and sociology than the
grammar and geography of old. It's a different world with different
requirements and capabilities needed to succeed.
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina,
KS. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley
Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, KS and reprinted by the Salina
Journal.
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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 do, lie, lay 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. per bu., 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 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 m?
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, and 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, super.
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 N.A.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver,
Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fermandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give 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 inclination of
the earth.
HOW DID WE DO? DID WE PASS WITH FLYING COLORS?
OR SHOULD WE SNICKER AT THE THOUGHT.......... hahaha!