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8th grade exam- 1895 [I'll bet there are PhDs today who couldn't pass this test]
Church & Son's Blog ^ | 7/22/12 | Randy Church

Posted on 05/27/2013 10:30:46 AM PDT by LibWhacker

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Could you pass this 8th grade exam that was given to students in Salina, Kansas in 1895? This is the toughest exam of this type I've seen. Hope it hasn't been posted before. I did search but couldn't find it.

And, no, I couldn't pass it. Gave up half-way through. :-(

Mucho respect for those old-timers.

1 posted on 05/27/2013 10:30:46 AM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: LibWhacker

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?

There are a lot of scientists today who would fail these two questions.


2 posted on 05/27/2013 10:33:47 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Best WoT news at rantburg.com)
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To: LibWhacker
http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp
3 posted on 05/27/2013 10:33:49 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (It is the deviants who are the bullies.)
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To: LibWhacker

I grew up in India, where I had to pass tests like this 20 years ago. It’s not as hard as it seems because:

1. You actually learn the things they’re asking about. e.g. If the question is “What are the fundamental rules of arithmetic”, you can bet there’s a textbook chapter called “The fundamental rules of arithmetic.”

2. You don’t have to get 90% right. A 60-70% will put you at the top of the class.

3. Tests like these encourage rote behavior. The students memorize entire textbooks (I did), and the teachers resort to the same questions on every test.

I’ll take a modern American education over this anytime. Steve Jobs may or may not have known the capital of Albania, but he could Think For Himself. And that’s what counts in the 21st century.


4 posted on 05/27/2013 10:38:24 AM PDT by sampai
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

“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?

There are a lot of scientists today who would fail these two questions.”

Those are easy for WBC.

“1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?”

God’s Judgment. God’s wrath.

“2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?”

Gay Marriage.


5 posted on 05/27/2013 10:39:06 AM PDT by sagar
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To: E. Pluribus Unum; Admin Moderator

Kindly delete this thread. It’s a phony. I was snookered. And I’m actually kind of relieved that I’m not THAT much dumber than my ancestors! Thanks E. Pluribus Unum.


6 posted on 05/27/2013 10:39:24 AM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: LibWhacker
Yeah, but could they define the difference between a scalar and an array, giving examples, and showing the notation used and how each is used in programming in {pick your computer language}.

/johnny

7 posted on 05/27/2013 10:40:22 AM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: LibWhacker

Yeah, OK, but none of these 8th grade Kansas smart alecs knew how to put a condom on a banana. So there.


8 posted on 05/27/2013 10:41:31 AM PDT by Louis Foxwell (Better the devil we can destroy than the Judas we must tolerate.)
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To: LibWhacker

For comparison, here is an 8th grade math exam for the state of Texas in 2006.

http://web.archive.org/web/20110904002324/http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/online/2006/grade8/math/8math.htm


9 posted on 05/27/2013 10:41:43 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Best WoT news at rantburg.com)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Those that trust snopes have soft, incurious minds.

Snopes lies and deceives in every way they can. In this case, they do not deny that the exam was given, but do try to give that impression. Then they attempt to dismiss its difficulty and importance.

F A I L !


10 posted on 05/27/2013 10:41:51 AM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Snopes doesn’t say its false, it just says “hey that test indicates how backwards we were back then, theres no culture
learning indicated, no worldhistory or the arts or algebra or advanced math etc”. Typical liberal drivel.


11 posted on 05/27/2013 10:41:59 AM PDT by Mmogamer (I refudiate the lamestream media, leftists and their prevaricutions.)
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To: LibWhacker
Every so often this exam pops up. So far it's been proven to be an urban legend.

The Truth TruthOrFiction.com has listed this eRumor as unproven, even though there is a source for it and we have obtained an actual copy of the exam. There has not been sufficient proof given, in our view, that the exam is what is claimed.

Rather than being for eighth graders, there are several aspects of the exam that raise the question as to whether it was intended for adults, perhaps newly graduated teachers or teacher applicants.

The eRumor says the exam is from the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society in Salina, Kansas, and was published in the Salina Journal newspaper. That is true. Shirley Tower, the volunteer librarian for the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society, found the exam and posted it on their website in 1996 and the Salina Journal's article appeared the same year. The exam started circulating on the Internet and became the subject of numerous newspaper articles including in the Washington Post and the Boston Globe.

There is no reason to doubt the authenticity of the exam, but there are questions about for whom it was intended (If the graphics are difficult to read, place your pointing device arrow over the graphic for details).

First, the original exam doesn't mention the eighth grade.Second, the document describes itself as being administered orally and for "applicants." Unless eight graders were described as "applicants," it makes one wonder if the exam was actually for newly graduated teachers:

Read more at:http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/a/1895exam.htm#.UaOaaNjN6kw

12 posted on 05/27/2013 10:42:19 AM PDT by SkyDancer (Live your life in such a way that the Westboro church will want to picket your funeral.)
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To: sampai

Thanks. I agree. Actually, I had a professor who gave impossibly difficult exams when I was in grad school. I got an ‘A’ in the class and I don’t think I ever scored more than 35% correct on any of his exams. Talk about discouraging students! It was totally uncalled for.


13 posted on 05/27/2013 10:42:35 AM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: Louis Foxwell

LOL!


14 posted on 05/27/2013 10:43:22 AM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: LibWhacker

um...er...um... can I have multiple choice please??


15 posted on 05/27/2013 10:43:57 AM PDT by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: LibWhacker; Admin Moderator

No the test is genuine; its snopes that is the phony.

They lie subtly on their site.

They do not deny that the exam was real.


16 posted on 05/27/2013 10:44:06 AM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: SkyDancer

>> “Every so often this exam pops up. So far it’s been proven to be an urban legend.” <<

.
No, that is not true. Snopes is the legend; and empty one.

I don’t understand why people return to snopes when they’ve been proven to be flat out liars.


17 posted on 05/27/2013 10:46:45 AM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: windcliff

This should be distributed around the school.


18 posted on 05/27/2013 10:47:11 AM PDT by onedoug
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To: editor-surveyor
Thanks.

Oh, no, I AM as dumb as this test made me feel! :-(

19 posted on 05/27/2013 10:48:07 AM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

“There are a lot of scientists today who would fail these two questions.”

There are a lt of climatologists that would fail this test today, the majority working for the IPCC.


20 posted on 05/27/2013 10:48:24 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (The reason we own guns is to protect ourselves from those wanting to take our guns from us.)
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