Subject: Re: 8th grade final
From: John M. Flanigan (johnf@hawaii.edu)
Date: Sun Apr 30 2000 - 15:10:53 EDT
My sign reads: "High Standards, High Retention, Open Door: Pick Two", but
I think some of my non-math colleagues don't like it very much.
I remember a similar 8th grade exam printed in my home town newspaper some
years ago. I kept a copy somewhere. I'll try to find it and add to this.
John M. Flanigan <johnf@hawaii.edu> The equation is the final arbiter.
Assistant Professor, Mathematics --Werner Heisenberg
Kapi'olani Community College The scoreboard is the final arbiter.
4303 Diamond Head Road --Bill Walton
Honolulu HI 96816 History is the final arbiter.
(808) 734-9371 --Edward Gibbon
On Sun, 30 Apr 2000, Bret Taylor wrote:
> Thanks.
>
> Standards, success, low student effort - Choose any two.
>
> Which two do you think Kansas chose in 1895? Which two do we choose today?
>
>
> At 11:43 AM 4/30/00 EDT, Davidatp@aol.com wrote:
> >I thought this was interesting. Any comments?
> >
> >
> > Could You Have Passed the 8th Grade in 1895?
> > > Probably Not...Take a Look:
> > >
> > > This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, Kansas. It
> > > was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley
> > > Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and reprinted
> > > by the Salina Journal.
> > >
> > > 8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, Kansas - 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 inch?
> > > 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.
> > >
> > > --------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > Imagine a college student who went to public school trying to pass this
> > > test, even if the few outdated questions were modernized. Imagine their
> > > professors even being able to pass the 8th Grade. Can Americans,
> > > student and professor alike, get back up to the 8th Grade level of 1895?
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >****************************************************************************
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> >
> >
> >
>
>
> Bret Taylor Lake-Sumter Community College Leesburg, FL John 3:30
>
> It matters not the subject taught, nor all the books on all the shelves.
> What matters more, yes, most of all, is what the teachers are themselves.
> John Wooden, UCLA
>
>
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