EDITOR: In light of the questionable guidance of the present
Morgan Hill School Board, I
’ve enclosed a reprint of an eighth grade exam from 1875. Just
some food for thought. It’s more than the “3-R’s.”
EDITOR:
In light of the questionable guidance of the present Morgan Hill School Board, I’ve enclosed a reprint of an eighth grade exam from 1875. Just some food for thought. It’s more than the “3-R’s.”
This is the eighth-grade final exam, circa 1895, Salina, Kansas. Perhaps this is an indication why so few needed to go to high school, much less college, in 1895.
Could today’s students, even professors, compete at the eighth grade level of 1895, even if the test reflected current events?
Grammar (Time, one hour)
• Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.
• Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications.
• Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.
• What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal parts of do, lie, lay and run.
• Define Case, Illustrate each Case.
• What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
• Write a composition of about 150 words to show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)
• Name and define the fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
• A wagon box is 2 feet deep, 10 feet long, and 3 feet wide How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
• If a load of wheat weights 3945 pounds, what is it worth at 50 cents per bushel, deducting 1050 pounds for tare?
• District No. 33 has a validation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals.
• Find cost of 6720 pounds coal at $6.00 per ton.
• Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months an 18 days at 7 percent.
• What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 feet long at $.20 per inch?
• Find bank discount on $300 or 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
• What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?
• Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.
U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
• Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
• Give an account on the discovery of America by Columbus.
• Show the territorial growth of the United States.
• Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
• Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
• Who are the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
• Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, and 1865?
Orthography (Time, 1 hour)
• What is it meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?
• What are elementary sounds? How classified?
• What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
• Give four substitutes for caret “ u” .
• Give two rules for spelling words with final “ e” . Name two exceptions under each rule.
• Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
• Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post , non, inter mono, super.
• 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.
• Use the following correctly in sentences: Site, cite, sight, fain, fane, feign, vane, vein, vain, raise, raze, rays.
• write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by us of diacritical marks and by syllabication.
Geography (Time, 1 hour)
• What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
• How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
• Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the Ocean?
• Describe the mountains of N.A.
• Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
• Name and locate the principle trade centers of the U.S.
• Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of each.
• Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
• Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
• Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the earth.
Douglas D. Wright,
Morgan Hill
