The World of Grandpa Don

Old-timers and Smart Fellers
 
 Remember when old-timers tell us they only had an 8th grade education?
 Could  any of us have graduated in 1895? Read on!
 
 The following eighth-grade final exam from 1895 Salina, KS. USA 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.
 
 Eighth 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. bushel, 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 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 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, 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, 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 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.

 
 Gives a whole new meaning to an early 20th-century person saying,
 "I only had an 8th grade education."

Thanks to Ron Hartman

I thank God that that was before my time!