z41\doc\web\2000\05\1895.txt -----Original Message----- From: James Powell [mailto:jepowell@JPS.NET] Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 6:01 PM To: ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU Subject: Re: Fwd: Test First and most important (to Me). I don't think this ever happened and I would have to have much more than "a colleague from Tucson's" report of it as evidence. Second, I am sure that 99% of the population of the U.S. at that time couldn't have gotten more than 10% of the items correct. I doubt very much if college graduates then or now could have done better than 10%. The "reformers" brought on drastic changes in education and may well bring about the demise of public education with these"reforms". They are going in directions that are in contradiction to what we know about teaching and learning and the "reforms will fail and will be forgotten as rapidly as Max Rafferty has been. The reason the politicians and business people's reforms are dysfunctional is because they have failed to review easily available research on teaching and learning . If someone on the list teaches in a university, I would find it informative if they would administer the test to seniors or graduate students and post the results on the list. ----- Original Message ----- From: Quan, Cao To: Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 4:48 AM Subject: Fwd: Test > This came from a colleague from Tucson, Arizona this morning: > > << This is the Salina, Kansas 1895 eighth-grade final exam > > How many of these could you answer (be honest)? > > > Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours) 10 minutes > 1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic. No such thing > 2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many > bushels of wheat will it hold? 1 US Bushels = 1.24400 Cubic Feet Can't solve this without conversion factor memorized Multiply dimensions, divide by 1.244 > 3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cts. per > bu., deducting 1050 lbs. for tare? Need conversion from lbs of wheat to bushels, from internet http://www.hpj.com/wsdocs/kawg/wwmcfact.htm Bushel Weights: 1 bu. wheat or soybeans = 60 lbs. 1 bu. corn or sorghum = 56 lbs. 1 bu. barley = 48 lbs. 1 bu. oats = 32 lbs > 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? cost = 7x50=350+104 = $454 divide 454 by 35,000 (yuck) 0.0129 or 1.3% 454.000 350000 104000 70000 34000 > 5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton. 6720 lbs div by 2000 lbs per ton = 3360 x 6 = 18 18 36 0 $20160 > 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 m? > 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 are, the distance around > which is 640 rods? anyways, this is 7th grade level math if you know the conversions. It's pretty rough though, it's simlar to the test we gave to introductory computer science students at Edmonds community college, I'd imagine 50th percentile high school graduates, about half did not meet the 75% passing score, including myself when I rushed through it. In my opinion, tests should be written at a level that shows how much you retained to prove whether you were paying any attention at all, very few will perform near a 100% level. > > > U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes) 5 min. > 1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided. no such thing today > 2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus. Columbus took the Nova, Pinto and the Vista Cruiser from Europe across the water to the Americas. > 3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War. British taxed. Americans revolted. > 4. Show the territorial growth of the United States. Go west young man. Alaska and Hawaii weren't in yet. > 5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas. I can tell about Washington - injuns, wagon trains, dams, Boeing, Microsoft. There. > 6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion. Uh, valley forge, bunker hill, Khe Sanh > 7. Who were the following: Morse morse code Whitney cotton gin Fulton steam engine Bell phone monopoly Lincoln congratulations, you're a free slave Penn other half of Teller, Howe duhhh? > 8. Name events connected with the following dates: > 1607 Jamestown (internet) > 1620 Mayflower compact (internet) > 1800 Indiana Territory Jefferson elected president http://library.thinkquest.org/12587/contents/personalities/tjefferson/tj.html > 1849 49'ers > 1865 end of Civil war > ARGH. lost me. Next Victim..... > 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 North America. > 5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, > Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, 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. > > > 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. > >> -----Original Message----- From: Jack L. Schmidt [mailto:JackSchmid@AOL.COM] Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2000 7:51 AM To: ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU Subject: Re: Test In a message dated 4/26/00 8:02:35 PM Central Daylight Time, jepowell@JPS.NET writes: << If someone on the list teaches in a university, I would find it informative if they would administer the test to seniors or graduate students and post the results on the list. >> Hello- Nobody has mentioned the fact that this test was most likely based on a course of study and there was some reasonable expectation that the student had pursued a specific syallabus that included detailed instruction on the various elements of the test. In reviewing the questions and putting them into context of the times (ie, knowing the weight and volumn of a bushel was an everyday work item, etc), all of the math proves relatively simple and I had no particular difficulty in working through these questions (other than looking up bushel and rod). The sections on Grammar and Orthography seem very complex, but I dimly remember that virtually everything here was covered, at least to some degree in my high school and junior high experiences in the fifties. The remaining sections are all doable (other than "Epochs") and I truthfully feel that I could give creditable answers on most of them, as should any reasonably educated adult. Thanks, Jack Schmidt Nancy Patterson has wondered about the 1895 test so I am forwarding a post from a Mr. Towner who explains somewhat where it came from. Now, I can't guarantee that Mr. Towner is not sitting in some Kansas cornfield having one might guffaw about pulling the wool over everyone's eyes, but I did reach him through the Kansas Geneological Society. I thought the syntax was modern in some places, too. And I wondered about the use of the word "etymology"--when was it invented? ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Cc: Sent: Monday, April 17, 2000 5:47 PM Subject: 1895 Examination I am the person who copied the 1895 School Examination for inclusion on the Smoky Valley Genealogical web site. Our society has published a book, "Early School Records, Saline County, Kansas, 1875-1915". This test is included as: "Examination Questions used in 1895 to test county grade school students for graduation". I copied the test from the book. In an introduction to the book the compilers write : "We are grateful to long-time Saline County Clerk, R.L. Armstrong, for furnishing us with a copy of the 1895 Examination Questions administered to county grade-school students by his father, County Superintendent J.W. Armstrong. He also provided the 1872 "Rules for Teachers." From this you can see that the compilers copied the test from the records of the school superintendent of the time. Both R.L. Armstrong and J.W. Armstrong are now deceased, and I do not know where the original can be found. A few years ago someone sent a copy of this test to Rush Limbaugh who read it on his radio show. Afterward, several agencys in the city were receiving requests for copies of the test and so I felt it would be of interest to researchers to include in on our web-site. It seems a difficult test to those of us who read it today. I believe that many of the questions on the test are aimed toward students intending to pursue an agricultural occupation. People who live in rural areas. Whether a student could answer these questions or not would depend on how closely he or she paid attention in school. Surely, these are the things that were taught to them and would seem like simple questions to us today if we had been taught the same lessons. I hope this is of some help to you, if I can be of further assistance, please let me know. Sincerely, Shirley George Towner Smoky Valley Genealogical Society Salina, KS. Probably most of you have seen a version of this, but please take the time to enjoy it...this can only happen when the focus is on trivia. Judi Subject: Today's Kids.... Following were actual answers to a college level history test: 1. Ancient Egypt was inhabited by mummies and they all wrote in hydraulics. They lived in the Sarah Dessert. The climate of the Sarah is such that the inhabitants have to live elsewhere. 2. Moses led the Hebrew slaves to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients. Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten commandments. He died before he ever reached Canada. 3. Solomom had three hundred wives and seven hundred porcupines. 4. The Greeks were a highly sculptured people, and without them we wouldn't have history. The Greeks also had myths. A myth is a female moth. 5. Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. Socrates died from an overdose of wedlock. After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline. 6. In the Olympic games, Greeks ran races, jumped, hurled biscuits, and threw the java. 7. Julius Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields of Gaul. The Ides of March murdered him because they thought he was going to be made king. Dying, he gasped out: "Tee hee, Brutus." 8. Joan of Arc was burnt to a steak and was cannonized by Bernard Shaw. 9. Queen Elizabeth was the "Virgin Queen." As a queen she was a success. When she exposed herself before her troops they all shouted "hurrah." 10. It was an age of great inventions and discoveries. Gutenberg invented removable type and the Bible. Another important invention was the circulation of blood. Sir Walter Raleigh is a historical figure because he invented cigarettes and started smoking. Sir Fransis Drake circumsized the world with a 100-foot clipper. 11. The greatest writer of the Renaissance was William Shakespeare. He was born in the year 1564, supposedly on his birthday. He never made much money and is famous only because of his plays. He wrote tragedies, comedies, and hysterectomies, all in Islamic pentameter. Romeo and Juliet are an example of a heroic couple. Romeo's last wish was to be laid by Juliet. 12. Writing at the same time as Shakespeare was Miguel Cervantes. He wrote Donkey Hote. The next great author was John Milton. Milton wrote Paradise Lost. Then his wife died and he wrote Paradise Regained. 13. Delegates from the original 13 states formed the Contented Congress. Thomas Jefferson, a Virgin, and Benjamin Franklin were two singers of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin discovered electricity by rubbing two cats backwards and declared, "A horse divided against itself cannot stand." Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead. 14. Abraham Lincoln became America's greatest Precedent. Lincoln's mother died in infancy, and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his own hands. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves by signing the Emasculation Proclamation. On the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln went to the theater and got shot in his seat by one of the actors in a moving picture show. They believe the assinator was John Wilkes Booth, a supposingly insane actor. This ruined Booth's career. 15. Johann Bach wrote a great many musical compositions and had a large number of children. In between he practiced on an old spinster which he kept up in his attic. Bach died from 1750 to the present. Bach was the most famous composer in the world and so was Handel. Handel was half German half Italian and half English. He was very large. 16. Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf he wrote loud music. He took long walks in the forest even when everyone was calling for him. Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died for this. 17. The nineteenth century was a time of a great many thoughts and inventions. People stopped reproducing by hand and started reproducing by machine. The invention of the steamboat caused a network of rivers to spring up. Cyrus McCormick invented the McCormick raper, which did the work of a hundred men. Louis Pasteur discovered a cure for rabbis. Charles Darwin was a naturalist who wrote the Organ of the Species. Madman Curie discovered radio. And Karl Marx became one of the Marx Brothers.