This arrived in my email this week, and I thought you mightenjoy it. Have fun . . .

Remember when our grandparents, great-grandparents, and suchstated that they only had an 8th grade education?

Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th gradein 1895? This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina,Kansas. It was taken from the original document on file at theSmokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina andreprinted 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 nomodifications.

3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.

4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Partsof do, lie, lay and run.

5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.

6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks ofPunctuation.

7 – 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show thereinthat 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. Howmany bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts./bushel, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?

4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is thenecessary 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 7percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. longat $20 per metre?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10percent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, thedistance 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 theRebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell,Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607 16201800 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 twoexceptions under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrateeach.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with aword: 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 indicatepronunciation 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 andOrinoco.

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give capital ofeach.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the samelatitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returnsto the sources of rivers.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of theearth.

. . . So how did you do? I flunked. I’ve got one of thosenew-fangled educations.

Write to Nanette Laster at P.O. Box 551 Brookhaven, Miss. 39602,or send email to news@dailyleader.com.