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Subject: What 8th Graders Were Expected to Know In 1910 Thu Jul 05, 2012 2:07 pm

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What 8th-Graders Were Expected to Know in 1910

What 8th Graders Were Expected to Know In 1910 School

The following 8^th-grade exit exam materials for Washington state in 1910 were
supplied to the Education Reporter by Vincent J. Doran of Anchorage, AK.

OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION,
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON
MY DEAR SUPERINTENDENT AND TEACHERS:

Herewith are sent lists of questions to be used by pupils of the Eighth Grade, who
are candidates for certificates of graduation. The aim of these questions is to
give the pupils of the Eighth Grade a test in both the technical and general
knowledge which they should possess in order to be ready for the higher work. The
following facts have been kept in view in the preparation of the questions:

The advancement of the pupils.
The general knowledge that they should possess.
The supplementary work that is now expected of teachers in our schools.
The requirements of the preparatory courses in higher schools.

If a pupil succeeds in passing successfully this test, he will receive a
certificate of graduation, and will be entitled to enter upon a high school
course.

Permit the suggestion that no teacher have charge of his pupils while they are
writing upon the questions, and to this end the Superintendent or some one
appointed by him should have charge of the following examination.

The papers are to be graded by the county Board of Education. The standard
is uniform for the state, and is as follows:

Minimum	60%
Minimum in grammar and arithmetic	80%
Average	80%

The rules and program for teachers examinations are to be followed so far as
they are applicable.

Very truly,

HENRY B. DEWEY,

Superintendent of Public Instruction

EIGHTH GRADE
EXAMINATION QUESTIONS
AUGUST 18 AND 19, 1910

READING CIRCLE WORK

Write a brief review of one reading circle book.

GRAMMAR

Write the plural of the following words: daisy, leaf, tooth, penny, die, me,
tongs, valley, Miss Jones, Mr. Brown.
Name the four kinds of sentences as to use, and the three kinds of
sentences as to structure.
Give sentences containing noun, adjective, and adverbial clauses.
Name four kinds of pronouns and give examples of each kind.
In what must a pronoun agree with its antecedent? Illustrate.
He felt the damp of the river fog, that rises after the sun goes down.
Diagram or analyze.
Compare: little, much, near, old, up, honest, elegant, famous, neat,
merciful.
Write a sentence containing a verb in the active voice, change it to the
passive, and explain how this is done.
Name three different ways in which a noun may be used in the nominative
case, and three ways in which a noun may be used in the objective case.
Write a letter to a friend describing briefly the country surrounding your
home.

ORTHOGRAPHY (spelling)

1-6.

1. soldier	16. sustenance
2. grandeur	17. obedience
3. numeral	18. cancellation
4. cuticle	19. declension
5. buffalo	20. military
6. decrepit	21. irregular
7. meridian	22. accurate
8. phrasing	23. pernicious
9. prairie	24. laudanum
10. reservoir	25. beneficent
11. Manhattan	26. senator
12. biography	27. registrar
13. emblematic	28. January
14. genuine	29. soliloquy
15. Siberia	30. Tuesday

Write sentences showing the correct use of the following words: beat, beet;
great, grate; lain, lane; seam, seem; the, thee.
Mark diacritically the vowels in the following: banana, admire, golden,
ticket, lunch.
Form words using the following affixes and tell of the meaning of the
words thus formed: ary, less, er, ous, dom.
Define the following words and give examples: primitive word, compound
word, vowel, accent, prefix.

UNITED STATES HISTORY
AND CIVICS

What were the three objective points of the Federal forces in the Civil War?
Name the last three presidents in order, and name an important event in
each administration.
How did the Colonies of the North and South differ as to social life,
education, industries, and customs, prior to the Revolution?
(a) State briefly the causes of the War of 1812. (b) Name two engagements.
(c) Two prominent American Commanders.
Give a short sketch of the life and work of one of the following great men:
Thomas Jefferson, Henry Clay, William McKinley.
(a) When and where was slavery introduced into America? (b) How was it
abolished?
What has made the names of each of the following historical? Alexander
Hamilton, U.S. Grant, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Cyrus W. Field, Clara Barton.
(a) State the qualifications of a United States Senator. (b) Name the
Senators from the State of Washington.
How do you distinguish between the terms Puritns, Pilgrims, and
Separatists?
Give an account of the framing and adoption of the Declaration of
Independence.

GEOGRAPHY

What causes the difference in climate between Eastern and Western Washington?
Name ten wild animals of Africa.
Tell some reasons why the people of Washington are interested in the
Orient.
Name the five chief nations of Europe, and give their capitals.
Name five important cities and five products of Canada.
Sketch a map of South America, locating three rivers, five capital cities.
What and where are the following? Liverpool, Panama, Suez, Ural, Liberia,
Quebec, Pikes Peak, Yosemite, Danube, San Diego.
Name five of the principal crops of the United States, and tell the section
where each is raised.
Describe the Nile and the country through which it flows.
Name the largest country of Asia, three important cities, and three
important products.

ARITHMETIC

Divide 304487 by 931.
Find the sum of 5/9, 5/6, 3/4, 11/36.
A gardener sells his celery for 8 1/3 cents per bunch. How many bunches
should he give for $5.00?
How many board feet in a piece of timber 14 inches square, and 12 feet
long?
What number diminished by 33 1/3 percent of itself, equals 38?
By selling my horse for $156 I gained 8 1/3 %. How much did the horse cost
me?
A note for $200 was given January 1, 1909, rate of interest to be 8%. How
much was due April 1, 1910?
Find the square root of 95.6484.
What is the cost of enough lumber to floor a room 24 feet long and 16 feet
wide, at $32 per thousand feet?
How much will it cost me to pave a street 42 feet wide, and 625 feet long,
at $11.65 per square yard?

READING

1-5. One selection in prose and one in poetry from eighth grade reading book.
(50 credits) (not included)

Name five American poets, and give a quotation from each.
Who wrote the following?
The Village Blacksmith.
Rip Van Winkle.
The First Snowfall.
The Great Stone Face.
The Raven.
Quote two stanzas of "America."
Quote a stanza from one of the poems mentioned in question 7.
Give in your own words the meaning of the following:
"To him who, in the love of Nature, holds
Communion with her visible forms, she speaks
A various language: for his gayer hours
She has a voice of gladness, and a smile
Into his darker musings with a mild
And healing sympathy, that steals away
Their sharpness ere he is aware."

PHYSIOLOGY

Describe the structure of the skin.
Locate the thoracic duct.
Trace a drop of blood from the time it enters the left ventricle, until it
returns to its starting point, and name the different valves and principal
arteries and veins through which it passes.
Describe the composition of the blood.
Why are the arteries more protected than the veins?
Name five special senses.
Explain why health depends largely upon habit.
Explain the effect of alcohol and tobacco upon the action of the heart.
Give some good reasons why boys should not smoke cigarettes.
What do you understand about the germ theory of disease?

GENERAL QUESTIONS

(Note—Examiners will grade penmanship of pupils from their answers to the following
questions)

Write your name in full.
What is your age?
Write your post office address, number of your school district, and name of
your teacher.
To what grade of the school do you belong? Have you completed the grade?
Is this your first eighth grade examination?
If you succeed in obtaining an eighth grade diploma, do you expect to
attend school next term? Where?

http://www.eagleforum.org/educate/2004/july04/1910.html

Try asking this shit to most 8th graders today.

I'm surprised. As old as I am, I am sure could pass this test right now with no problem. It's amazing how much you do retain from grade school, even if you don't use much, if any, of it.

FAIL!

NO wonder they were so much smarter then.

Nystyle709 wrote:: Try asking this shit to most 8th graders today.

Word!

Ive always said my grandmother got a better education in high school than did her children, they got a better education than I did and I know I got a better education than my kids. Even in high school I couldn't pass that test and I could do better than my kids, The grand-kids are abysmally ignorant.

Sometimes, because I know a lot of college grads, I consider my 1963 HS Diploma the equivalent of a Bachelor Degree. (Oh, that could come from editing some of the written assignments for post grads working on their masters')

Damn!! I'd most likely fail.

Gosh, I expected this to be something really easy when I read the subject. Thanks for posting...it's very interesting.

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