8th Grade Exam - Can You Pass?

[5stringJeff]

I got this from an e-mail from my MIL.

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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.

Also notice that the exam took five hours to complete.

Gives the saying "she/he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?

[Mr. P]

Thanks, Jeff! Everytime I see this test I'm reminded of how DUMB I am! :slap:

[Abbey Marie]

Pass? I'm tired just from reading the questions.

[Nienna]

What? It wasn't multiple choice????

:)

[manu1959]

that knowledge was required to get to 9th grade....i acomplished that....

therfore that knowledge is no longer required.

[avatar4321]

What the heck is Orthography and since when do they teach any of that stuff in 8th grade?

[krisy]

My son is only in the sixth grade and learning stuff I swear we did in high school! How stupid I feel when I can't help him with his homework here and there because I don't know it or can't remember it!!! They also learn this 'new math". WHAT? What was wrong with the old stuff?!!!!! It has to be the stupidest way of learning math I have ever seen.

My daughter is in kindergarden and is also moving very fast. Thay actually have math homework,and are learning geometry and how to estimate....in kindergarden!!!!!!

[Mr. P]

My son is only in the sixth grade and learning stuff I swear we did in high school! How stupid I feel when I can't help him with his homework here and there because I don't know it or can't remember it!!! They also learn this 'new math". WHAT? What was wrong with the old stuff?!!!!! It has to be the stupidest way of learning math I have ever seen.

My daughter is in kindergarden and is also moving very fast. Thay actually have math homework,and are learning geometry and how to estimate....in kindergarden!!!!!!
The new methods also cause conflict at home. If I tried to explain to my daughter how to work a problem she would insist I didn’t know what I was doing. In her mind I didn’t because she was being taught a totally different way than I learned. My explanation was like a foreign language to her. Very frustrating for both of us.

[Nienna]

What the heck is Orthography and since when do they teach any of that stuff in 8th grade?

Orthography is spelling.

[Nienna]

My son is only in the sixth grade and learning stuff I swear we did in high school! How stupid I feel when I can't help him with his homework here and there because I don't know it or can't remember it!!! They also learn this 'new math". WHAT? What was wrong with the old stuff?!!!!! It has to be the stupidest way of learning math I have ever seen.

My daughter is in kindergarden and is also moving very fast. Thay actually have math homework,and are learning geometry and how to estimate....in kindergarden!!!!!!

DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THE NEW MATH!!!! Have you seen the "lattice multiplication?" :dev2:

Although, I think kids are capable of learning lots of stuff when younger. I remember when I was a kid, my mind was like a sponge. Someone would say something, or I'd see something, and just REMEMBER it forever. I still remember my best friend's phone number from 3rd grade! After 10 years of child-rearing, and my mind being in 5 places at all times, it might take two or three tries before something sticks in my brain. :( And I swear child-rearing dulls the logical/mathematical centers in the brain.

[Nienna]

The new methods also cause conflict at home. If I tried to explain to my daughter how to work a problem she would insist I didn’t know what I was doing. In her mind I didn’t because she was being taught a totally different way than I learned. My explanation was like a foreign language to her. Very frustrating for both of us.

In our schools, they actively discourage the parents from helping, even though they SAY they want the parents' involvement. As for the new math... I just remediate my kids. :D

[krisy]

DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THE NEW MATH!!!! Have you seen the "lattice multiplication?" :dev2:

Although, I think kids are capable of learning lots of stuff when younger. I remember when I was a kid, my mind was like a sponge. Someone would say something, or I'd see something, and just REMEMBER it forever. I still remember my best friend's phone number from 3rd grade! After 10 years of child-rearing, and my mind being in 5 places at all times, it might take two or three tries before something sticks in my brain. :( And I swear child-rearing dulls the logical/mathematical centers in the brain.

Isn't it funny how clear your head is until you become and adult-lol!!!!I was the same way.

Jacob did the lattice mulltipication last year or the year before I think. I had NO clue what the heck was going on. I had to go next door,have my neighbors daughter explain it to me,so I could explain to him:laugh2:

My daughter gets massice amounts of homework in K too. There is no due date for it,but even the teacher told me that she is very overwhelmed at the amount of work they are adding on every year for her to try and teach 20-25 children,all with different capabilities.

[shattered]

<b>10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.</b>

I can do that!!

[krisy]

The new methods also cause conflict at home. If I tried to explain to my daughter how to work a problem she would insist I didn’t know what I was doing. In her mind I didn’t because she was being taught a totally different way than I learned. My explanation was like a foreign language to her. Very frustrating for both of us.

Mr. P,that is EXACTLY what we go through here. He looks at me like I'm carzy and tells me that my way is not the way the teacher showed him. I'm thinkin,"what other way could there be?"

It is frustrating to say the least. Last week he had fractions homework and he was actually being taught the way I was taught,so I was able to help him....wooohooo!

[Hobbit]

The new methods also cause conflict at home. If I tried to explain to my daughter how to work a problem she would insist I didn’t know what I was doing. In her mind I didn’t because she was being taught a totally different way than I learned. My explanation was like a foreign language to her. Very frustrating for both of us.

Yet another major problem caused by the idea being prepetuated that the teacher is smarter than the parents. It's sometimes true, but the new ways they keep coming up with to teach kids math is stupid. They try to teach them shortcuts before teaching the fundamentals. I have seen new math. It's stupid and will ruin your kids. If your kids are using new math, you need to tell them to forget everything they've been learning in class and teach them the correct way to do it.

[Mr. P]

Yet another major problem caused by the idea being prepetuated that the teacher is smarter than the parents. It's sometimes true, but the new ways they keep coming up with to teach kids math is stupid. They try to teach them shortcuts before teaching the fundamentals. I have seen new math. It's stupid and will ruin your kids. If your kids are using new math, you need to tell them to forget everything they've been learning in class and teach them the correct way to do it.

That’s it alright. As I tried to explain the process of solving a problem step by step to my daughter so she would have an understanding of how you come to an answer she would say, “that’s not how we’re doing it, there’s a shorter way, you're confusing me”. Well yeah, there is a shorter way, but then you have no clue how or why you got the answer you did.

Today she is very weak in math because of shortcuts, IMO.

[Nienna]

Isn't it funny how clear your head is until you become and adult-lol!!!!I was the same way.

Jacob did the lattice mulltipication last year or the year before I think. I had NO clue what the heck was going on. I had to go next door,have my neighbors daughter explain it to me,so I could explain to him:laugh2:

My daughter gets massive amounts of homework in K too. There is no due date for it,but even the teacher told me that she is very overwhelmed at the amount of work they are adding on every year for her to try and teach 20-25 children,all with different capabilities.

Yeah... I had Abbie's teacher explain it to me at the conference. ANd the new division... seems like they want to give them as much slack as possible before they actually have to apply math FACTS.

They need to go back to the tracking system, so kids of similar abilities are placed together. And they need to cut out all this social indoctrination, so the kids have time in class to learn to actually READ, WRITE, and ADD.

We have a posters in the kids' schools... the NEW "3 'R's": Respect, Responsibility, and something else, I can't remember... They are backing away from hardcore subjects in favor of mushy-gushy social "reforms."

[Abbey Marie]

Yeah... I had Abbie's teacher explain it to me at the conference. ANd the new division... seems like they want to give them as much slack as possible before they actually have to apply math FACTS.

They need to go back to the tracking system, so kids of similar abilities are placed together. And they need to cut out all this social indoctrination, so the kids have time in class to learn to actually READ, WRITE, and ADD.

We have a posters in the kids' schools... the NEW "3 'R's": Respect, Responsibility, and something else, I can't remember... They are backing away from hardcore subjects in favor of mushy-gushy social "reforms."

Was the third R, "Relativism, Moral". :rolleyes:

[Nienna]

Yet another major problem caused by the idea being prepetuated that the teacher is smarter than the parents. It's sometimes true, but the new ways they keep coming up with to teach kids math is stupid. They try to teach them shortcuts before teaching the fundamentals. I have seen new math. It's stupid and will ruin your kids. If your kids are using new math, you need to tell them to forget everything they've been learning in class and teach them the correct way to do it.

EXACTLY what happened with my Abbie. She had her head all turned around, trying to remember all the shortcuts for the different multiplication facts. Finally had to sit her down and tell her to forget what she learned; she was just going to have to memorize them. Not that not knowing her times tables would have caused her to actually FAIL math. :uhoh:

[Nienna]

My poor little girl... was just helping her with her homework... she had to divide 4002 by 69. The answer she came up with was 59.41 R 5. A decimal AND a remainder. :(

Math isn't her strong suit...lol!

[5stringJeff]

Yet another major problem caused by the idea being prepetuated that the teacher is smarter than the parents.

I can guarantee to all my kids that I am/will be smarter than their teachers, and will be able to teach them far more than they can get at school.

[Doniston]

Yet another major problem caused by the idea being prepetuated that the teacher is smarter than the parents. It's sometimes true, but the new ways they keep coming up with to teach kids math is stupid. They try to teach them shortcuts before teaching the fundamentals. I have seen new math. It's stupid and will ruin your kids. If your kids are using new math, you need to tell them to forget everything they've been learning in class and teach them the correct way to do it.

In the service I taught Math, and then later, I was to teach my own children. It was about fifteen years after I was teaching that I ran into the new math. specifically long division which was simply trial and error. My children learned their tables,( except for the youngest, who was the one taking long division. )

I have often wondered what would happen if we had some sort of holocaust which destroyed our electrical capacity. Kids (or adults)could no longer add 16 and 16 because they didn't have a usable computer or calculator. These are fine for practice, but they first need to learn the basics.

[Nukeman]

I have often wondered what would happen if we had some sort of holocaust which destroyed our electrical capacity. Kids (or adults)could no longer add 16 and 16 because they didn't have a usable computer or calculator. These are fine for practice, but they first need to learn the basics.


Here's what you do in this circumstance, you subsidize the schools teaching with your own. This is what my wife and I do for our 4 children. We always show them an alternitave to the way the teacher has presented it. This makes for a more well rounded education and also has the children thinking a little more as to how to perform a task.

I love getting into arguments with teachers over what I teach my children especially if it runs contradictory to thier ideas.