It probably wasn’t really an 8th grade test... http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/a/1895exam.htm
Went to your link and I have to agree with you but I think you would have to agree with me that today we don’t require such knowledge from most teachers. The link also has this to say about it.
“There is no reason to doubt the authenticity of the exam, but there are questions about for whom it was intended”
I have in my hand an old pamphlet titled “Eighth Grade Examinations, for review: a complete set of questions used in Eighth Grade examinations of the past seven years. 1922-1928”
I am guessing it was for Iowa schools since the publisher was in Mason City. The questions is pretty like the 1898 test questions but it looks to me like it was written for students not for potential teachers.
In a year or so I plan to take a grad school test like the GRE or GMAT. This old eighth grade test question booklet is one of the things I think will be useful to study for it.