Final Exam

[Studlover]

Final Exam
This is the eighth grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas.
It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and reprinted by The Salina Journal.

(Anyone claiming 90% or better, please email your score to webmaster@proofmark.com for listing on this page; braggarts will be retested and publicly humiliated.)



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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 through 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 cents/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 for seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. of 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 the 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 the elementary sounds? How are they 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 Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the 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 the inclination of the earth.

[Robby]

I didn't see a lunch break in the 5 hours of exam time. Did they not eat? What about potty breaks? When did they pee and poop?

[Riverwind]

After careful examination of the test above it proves one thing, that is why everybody in Kansas are still farmers, no one ever passed the test.



River

[Shortie]

Sorry to collapse the bubble on this one, guys, but it's just not so.

This particular "urban legend" has been making the rounds since the 1990's, and maybe before. You can find a de-bunking of the story at the Snopes Website, specifically this URL:

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.htm

Sharon and I first read that particular story when it was forwarded to us by a mutual acquaintance a couple of years ago. Since we both are, or were, involved in public education, it was of especial interest to us. Additionally, it was not much of a problem for us to gather first-hand information, since we live fairly close, in geographical terms, to Salina, Kansas.

We drove to the Smoky Hill Museum one day, where the document in question was on display. It's true that the test actually exists, and it does contain the questions displayed above. However, that it was actually administered to eighth graders, with a passing grade being a condition of graduation, is open to question.

The docent at the museum told us that they believe the test was administered to teachers who applied for jobs in that school district, rather than being given to kids. Certainly makes more sense to us.

Like all urban legends, I'm afraid this one doesn't stand up to closer examination.

[Robby]

Sorry to collapse the bubble on this one, guys, but it's just not so.

This particular "urban legend" has been making the rounds since the 1990's, and maybe before.

Like all urban legends, I'm afraid this one doesn't stand up to closer examination.

Yes, but did they still have time to pee and poop while taking the test?...

[A-1]

I didn't see a lunch break in the 5 hours of exam time. Did they not eat? What about potty breaks? When did they pee and poop?

One question at a time.

1. No lunch break needed. They were so nervous from the test that they all lost their appetites.

2. No potty breaks were necessary,,,because...

3. They all shit and pissed allover themselves when they opened the test.


A-1