Could you have

passed the 8th grade in 1895?

A friend supplied

this eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, Kan. It was purportedly

taken from the original document on file at the Smoky 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 do , lie ,

lay and run .

5. Define case ,

and 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 feet deep, 10 feet long, and 3 feet 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 m?

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 are, 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,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 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.

So, what do

you think? Are we more or less educated as a people than we were 107 years

ago in Salina, Kansas?

[The Reverend

Canon David Epps is rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church

in the Coweta/Fayette County area of south metro Atlanta. He may be contacted

at [email protected] or at www.ctkcec.org.]