Posted on 12/18/2008 9:30:57 AM PST by Halfmanhalfamazing
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 50cts. 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 inch? 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, and 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 N.A. 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.
Not a very comprehensive Snopes article. It doesn’t explain how the fake originally arose, which makes me wonder if it is true after all. In any case, the dumbing down of education has been quantified. Test scores have been in decline, which is usually attributed to a greater “democratization” of the tests. But the absolute number of people scoring over a 600 on the verbal SAT declined by 64% in the 1970’s and 1980’s. See for example, “The Schools We Need, and Why We Don’t Have Them” by E.D. Hirsch.
Ridiculous!
How will this test help my self-esteem?!
And no mention of global warming or diversity?
At least my ‘F’ should be in purple marker...
I wouldn’t do too well.
1. Describe how you feel now. (4 hours)
I have an Elson Grammar School Reader grade 6 (1910) on my desk. Know what the first poetry unit is titled? Patriotism, Stories, Poems and Nature and Duty.
Did you read the article you link to? It is NOT an urban legend. It's an actual test from 1895, whether it was a High School exam or an 8th grade test is not known. Snope's doesn't make any effort to debunk the test...only it's significance as a tool to measure modern academic progress.
And FWIW, Snopes is not the be all and end all of internet research.! Who the hell died and made them the Gaurdians of Truth?
Ahh, but Snopes doesn’t say the test isn’t real, they discount the need for the reader to pass it.
Ouch.
Thanks for the snopes link.
But this isn’t without irony. They give an example of a teaching exam which is terribly difficult from the 1800s.
So I guess the thread is salvaged. :-)
wtf...!!! lol no wonder kids today are stupid look at todays teachings.....
I read the explanation on Snopes and DID NOT see where they said that the exam itself was a false urban legend. What they did say is that kids could probably learn the same thing today IF it was taught and then they mentioned that certain things that we would consider important today are not addressed.
Exactly. I looked through that Snopes article and didn’t see anything that explained WHY it was false. Sounds like the leftist who wrote it just doesn’t like the fact that it might be the case.
I still have proof education has fallen; I read Rime of the Ancient Mariner in my Senior AP English class in high school. My brother found a 1890’s literature textbook with the same poem; it was for the 5th grade!
Actually, Snopes doesn't declare that the test is false. The ONLY thing Snopes attempts to proclaim as false is the idea that the test demonstrates that children were better educated a century ago.
The Snopes article does not debunk it. It in fact assumes it is true, and reinforces it is true by referencing a similar test for teachers. The Snopes article apparently attempts to argue the argument that the test invites.
Exactly, that was the point I was trying to make, albiet poorly.
That's like comparing apples to onions. The knowledge taught in 1895 had purpose...and that was to "function" as a responsible citizen who could make his/her own way in the real world.
The purpose of today's education system is to indoctrinate and rely on nanny gov't.
Reminds me of something years ago when I was in the LA Basin. Our office was in West Covina, it was late September and a new guy moved in from NY. One day he said:
"I don't see the issues here with the smog".
I pointed north and said: "You see those mountains over there (He could not because of the smog)."
He looked at me like I was crazy, I then commented, "Well let me know when you do."
A week later it rained and LA basin was crystal clear. His comment to me was the same as yours: "HOLY CRAP"
You are in LA at the best time of year, brisk, clear and there may be snow on the mountains (I am in SF, not LA). Under those conditions LA can be quite a sight.
Good answer! I’m with you.
Snopes does make a few good points (literature not being mentioned, etc.) and they are right that kids today COULD learn these things if they were being taught, but they fail to account for the fact that finding the necessary number of teachers who were capable of teaching at this level would be impossible.
Pick up a text book for those times and you’d easliy pass the tests. Things DO change.
Yes, but people being people, just like they are today, very few people back then could probably get an A on these tests, either.
The difference is that the people who did poorer on those tests back then, still studied, were learning, and did learn something. Today you’ve got people not even studying at all for anything.
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