Eighth Grade Education circa - 1895 - - (long)

[Carol]

Stevewrote:
>
> This is one of those emails that is bouncing around from person to
person, but I thought it was interesting. This is an actual 8th grade
final exam taken from the historical archives in  Kansas. <huge snip>

Carol responds:

I was going to take the exam, but I didn't realize that it would
require several hours. I could easily pass (possibly not ace) the
English part. The arithemetic portion, however, I'd fail. I don't
remember anything about bushels except that a bushel is made up of
pecks in the same way that a gallon is made up of quarts. I don't
understand "For tare?" Does anybody? I don't remember what a rod is
(unless we're talking about rods and cones!). The arithmetic seems
very farm oriented and doesn't resemble what I was learning in eighth
grade (algebra). IIIRC, seventh grade arithmetic was mostly
multiplying and dividing fractions, lowest common denominator, and
stuff like that. I might get two or three of these questions right.
Well, I can write a check and a receipt, but we have forms for those!
(BTW, did anyone notice the British orthography--"metres," etc.--in
this American exam?)

With regard to history, I would miss question 1 (epochs of American
history), question 5 (history of Kansas), question 6 (three prominent
battles of the Rebellion--which Rebellion?) I'd have trouble with the
territorial growth question but get some of it right. I'd get all the
dates except 1800. ("In sixteen hundred seven, we sailed the ocean
sea, for glory, God, and gold and the Virginia Company." Hey, Disney
is good for something!)

Steve: 
> - Orthography (Time, one hour) -
> [Do we even know what this is??]

Carol:
Yep. We do. But I have no idea what they mean by elementary sounds
unless they mean phonemes classified as sibilants and fricatives and
all that stuff I used to know and have forgotten. I'd miss most of
question 3 except for diphthong and I don't get the "caret 'u'"
question, either. The spelling part (except for diacritical marks) is
easy, as is using the various homophones in sentences.

The geography part starts out easy, but I don't understand what they
mean by "name and describe" the list of cities, provinces, etc., nor
do I know anything about Hecla (what the hecla is that?), Juan
Fernandez, Aspinwall, or Orinoco. I don't remember the inclination of
the earth and don't think we ever learned it in school.
 Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Steve: 
> Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new
meaning, doesn't it?!   

Carol:
Yes, it does. If I passed it, my grade (except for the English part)
would be a low pass. And I don't know any high school kids who would
pass it, either. Which is not to say that they don't know things these
kids didn't learn (like astronomy and certain historical events that
hadn't happened yet in 1895.) They can use computers, anyway, but the
ones I know can't spell or even divide words into syllables. (My
mother, who volunteers to tutor elementary school kids in spelling and
arithmetic, says that they have the multiplication table right on
their desks, the way the alphabet is above the board in first-grade
classes. I hope that's only the fourth graders and not the older kids.
What happened to memorization? (Oh, yes. That's a bad word. Interferes
with creativity. I forgot.)

Carol, who wonders what use diacritical marks and diphthongs would
have been to Kansas farm kids in 1895