8th grade test from 1912

dirtyharry555

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Feb 7, 2011
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ARITHMETIC
1. Write in words the following:
.5764; .000003; .123416; 653.0965; 43.37.

2. Solve: 35.7 plus 4, 5.8 plus 5.14 – 59.112.

3. Find cost at 12½ cents per sq. yd. of kalsomining the walls of a room 20 ft. long, 16 ft. wide and 9 ft. high, deducting 1 door 8 ft. by 4 ft 6 in. and 2 windows 5 ft. by 3 ft. 6 in. each. (By the way, “kalsomining” is whitewash).

4. A man bought a farm for $2400 and sold it for $2700. What percent did he gain?

5. A man sold a watch for $180 and lost 16⅔%. What was the cost of the watch?

6. Find the amount of $50.30 for 3 yrs., 3 mo. and 3 days, at 8 percent.

7. A school enrolled 120 pupils and the number of boys was two thirds of the number of girls. How many of each sex were enrolled?

8. How long a rope is required to reach from the top of a building 40 ft. high, to the ground 30 ft. from the base of the building?

9. How many steps 2 ft. 4 in. each will a man take in walking 2¼ miles?

10. At $1.62½ a cord, what will be the cost of a pile of wood 24 ft. long, 4 ft. wide and 6 ft. 3 in. high? (Interesting to note that a cord of wood was only $1.62 during 1912!)



GRAMMAR
1. How many parts of speech are there? Define each.

2. Define proper noun; common noun. Name the properties of a noun.

3. What is a Personal Pronoun? Decline I.

4. What properties have verbs?

5. “William struck James.” Change the Voice of the verb.

6. Adjectives have how many Degrees of Comparison? Compare good; wise, beautiful.

7. Diagram: The Lord loveth a cheerful giver.

8. Parse all the words in the following sentences:
“John ran over the bridge.”
“Helen’s parents love her.”



GEOGRAPHY
1. Define longitude and latitude.

2. Name and give the boundaries of the five zones.

3. Tell what you know of the Gulf Stream.

4. Locate Erie Canal; what waters does it connect, and why is it important?

5. Locate the following countries which border each other: Turkey [Ottoman Empire], Greece, Servia [Serbia today], Montenegro, Roumania [early spelling of Romania].

6. Name and give the capitals of States touching the Ohio River.

7. Locate these cities: Mobile, Quebec, Buenos Aires, Liverpool, Honolulu.

8. Name in order of their size three largest States in the United States.

9. Locate the following mountains: Blue Ridge, Himalaya, Andes, Alps, Wasatch.

10. Through what waters would a vessel pass in going from England through the Suez Canal to Manila?



PHYSIOLOGY
1. How does the liver compare in size with other glands in the human body? Where is it located? What does it secrete?

2. Name the organs of circulation.

3. Describe the heart.

4. Compare arteries and veins as to function. Where is the blood carried to be purified?

5. Where is the chief nervous center of the body?

6. Define Cerebrum; Cerebellum.

7. What are the functions (or uses) of the spinal column?

8. Why should we study Physiology?

9. Give at least five rules to be observed in maintaining good health.



CIVIL GOVERNMENT
1. Define the following forms of government: Democracy, Limit Monarchy, Absolute Monarchy, Republic. Give examples of each.

2. To what four governments are students in school subjected?

3. Name five county officers, and the principal duties of each.

4. Name and define the three branches of the government of the United States.

5. Give three duties of the President. What is meant by the veto power?

6. Name three rights given Congress by the Constitution and two rights denied Congress.

7. In the election of a president and vice-president, how many electoral votes is each State allowed?

8. Give the eligibility of president, vice-president and Governor of Kentucky.

9. What is a copyright? Patent right?

10. Describe the manner in which the president and vice-president of the United States are elected.



HISTORY
1. Who first discovered the following places: Florida, Pacific Ocean, Mississippi River, St. Lawrence River?

2. Sketch briefly Sir Walter Raleigh, Peter Stuyvesant.

3. By whom were the following settled: Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Florida?

4. During what wars were the following battles fought: Brandywine, Great Meadows, Lundy’s Lane, Antietam, Buena Vista?

5. Describe the battle of Quebec.

6. Give the cause of the War of 1812, and name an important battle fought during that war.

7. Name 2 presidents who have died in office; three who were assassinated.

8. Name the last battle of the Civil War; War of 1812; French and Indian War, and the commanders in each battle.

9. What president was impeached, and on what charge?

10. Who invented the following: magneto, telegraph, cotton gin, sewing machine, telephone, phonograph?

'So, what do you think? How does this compare with today’s 8-th graders in general?

While times have changed… does this 100 year old test illustrate a fundamental change?'


 
The abstract (algebra is abstract) is quite useful for people going into math related fields and that modern test seems harder than the 1912 one.
 
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Here’s one I found that’s representative of more recent
curriculum


I did pretty well on that test but it took me a while, and I used a calculator and pen/paper. Not sure what the time limit would have been, and if calculators were not allowed the math would have taken me 4x as long. To put into perspective, I'm 45 and I learned math by memorizing the multiplication tables and doing long division. When it comes to fractions I convert to decimal with my calculator (or long division which takes way longer. I don't know how they teach math anymore, but I'm pretty sure long division is not part of the curriculum.

Also, I hated math. I skipped class a lot and never did my homework so I was usually lost. I dropped it the first chance I got, which was grade 12. I think my final mark in grade 11 math was 51%, which means my teacher liked me enough to not fail me.
 
The abstract (algebra is abstract) is quite useful for people going into math related fields and that modern test seems harder than the 1912 one.
No doubt today’s math and sciences are more difficult as compared to even when I was in high school 40 years ago.

There’s just so much more advances in technology and the pace of discovery has increased dramatically. Content such as multiple computer languages, quantum mechanics or biotech are in the curriculum at my son’s high school a couple of years ago.
 
Keep in mind that, in Kentucky in 1912, only a small percentage of students would attend school beyond grade 8. The majority would get enough 'book learning' to be able to farm or do physical labour successfully.

I have a copy of The Circle of Knowledge, which I believe was used as a textbook in all-white one room school houses in the rural Southern states shortly after 1912, (there were editions published from 1917 until the early 1930's, and probably still in use for some time after that).

Some of the information in the book is absurdly incorrect, like the section which says the Earth used to be a star, and mountains and volcanoes are caused by heat in the center of the cooling star pushing its way to the surface. This quote from the section on domesticated animals is unintentionally funny:

Re: The ass, (donkey):

"In Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Spain, Kentucky, and elsewhere asses are well cared for, and the breed has been considerably varied and improved. The stupidity for which the animal has for long been proverbially reproached seems largely the result of human influence.

The Mule is a hybrid bred between mare and male ass; while the hinny is the rarer result of hybridism between horse and female ass. The mule is much nearer in temper and appearance to the ass than to the horse; the hinny in some points resembles the horse more, as it neighs, while the mule brays like the ass. The ass is admirably adapted for a beast of burden, being remarkable for endurance, hardiness, and docility under kind treatment."

Some sections of the book appear to have been translated from a German source, and I believe, (but have no proof), that certain sections were included at the behest of the Ku Klux Klan! This is a direct quote from page 277:

THE CAUCASIAN THE REAL
HISTORIC RACE


Of all these races the only one whose history is important for us is the Caucasian or white race, to which we ourselves belong.

I think I got the last copy available on abebooks(dot)com from a Canadian vendor. It's possible that ordering this book from across an International border might make one a person of interest to the FBI. This is one of those books which certain people today would like to pretend that it had never existed.
 
..., but I'm pretty sure long division is not part of the curriculum.
...
Don't know why it would be. So many other useful skills that could be taught rather than preparing society for the chance that we go back to pre-electrical times. I see it the same as teaching an abacas or slide rule. Sure, they can be useful but there are so many more effective ways to do the same thing (maybe it's the engineer in me).
 
Fascinating. Education has gone from practical to abstract. No wonder kids finishing high school are useless. Yet teachers keep padding their lesson plan with more and more useless information and demand more money because marking it is so time consuming. It is the perfect crime.
You do understand the provincial governments implement the curriculum. Teachers are instructed to follow the education plan. Most high school kids today would at the very least, know that. The actual crime is your lack of awareness and comprehension of the education system. Once there is political interference in education, all practically is lost!
 
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