1895 eight grade final exam

With all the recent hubbub over education and testing in Wyoming it seems appropriate to pass along an e-mail I just received.

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an eighth grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the eighth grade in 1895?

Following is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kan. 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)

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, play 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 – one hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is two feet deep, 10 feet long and three feet wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 pounds what is it worth at 50 cents per bushel, deducting 1,050 pounds 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 the cost of 6,720 pounds of coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for eight months and 18 days at seven percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 foot long at $20 per metre?

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 of 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.

Okay, now that you have passed the first half of the test prepare for Orthography and Geography in the next Postcard of the Past.