Thinkin' of Scott and teaching...

[Little Feat]

Hoys all,

I've been in technology hell and have just managed to get a browser working. Lots to be said for paper ;-)

I ran across this and it got me thinking of Scott and recent discussions on the state of education.

This is the final exam that was issued to an 8th grade class in Salina, KS in 1895. I'm interested to see what ya'll think:

Could You Have Passed
The 8th Grade in 1895?

Probably Not...Take a Look: This is the 1895 eighth-grade final exam from Salina, Kansas. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam - Salina, Kansas, 1895

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.

Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cts. per bu, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
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?
5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
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 inch?
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 acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, and 1865?

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 N.A.
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.

Health (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Where are the saliva, gastric juice, and bile secreted? What is the use of each in digestion?
2. How does nutrition reach the circulation?
3. What is the function of the liver? Of the kidneys?
4. How would you stop the flow of blood from an artery in the case of laceration?
5. Give some general directions that you think would be beneficial to preserve the human body in a state of health.

Imagine a college student who went to public school at the end of the 20th Century trying to pass this test, even if the few outdated questions were modernized. Imagine their professors even being able to pass the 8th Grade. Can Americans, student and professor alike, get back up to the 8th Grade level of 1895?

ED-U-CA'-TION, n. [L. educatio.] The bringing up, as of a child, instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give children a good education in manners, arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties.
-- Noah Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language (1828) --

[farmboy]

Golly, I had to look up ORTHOLOGY in the dictionary to understand what the category meant much less answer the questions!!

I'm also not sure why this thread was placed in LITTLE FEAT GENERAL DISCUSSION.

[Scott Hays]

Since I seem to bear at least some connection to your post, Rick, let me add a couple of things:

• In 1895, public education was not universal. Nor was it mandatory. Children still in regular attendance in an 8th grade classroom at the end of the school year were of a very different variety than those in 8th grade classrooms, today. The population was more homogenous (and thereby easier to teach), the attendance a little more voluntary, and in all likelihood the kids had been in attendance in that classroom (or at least school) for nine years. While some of the preceeding is speculative, what is not is the fact that kids who were still going to school were not surprised by these expectations, and had proven (at least up to seventh grade) that they could meet them. Those who could not meet them had already dropped out. So, the school expecting kids to pass this test had an audience that was capable of passing the test. It was not "everyone".

• That said, the Salina final examination might lead many of us to better understand what passes for being well-learned vs. having put in seat time to finish our schooling.

• The test is interesting, because it is not a multiple-choice, easily scored exam. Though the number of kids taking the test is small, the teacher -- nevertheless -- will have to read each one and make judgments based upon how clearly the kid expresses himself or herself. Most of these questions -- even the really obvious fact-based questions -- can be explained in any number of non-standard ways. Children were expected to be able to express themselves clearly, not just select an appropriate bubble and color it in. The bubble tests, by the way ... though easier to administer and score (and, therefore, less expensive ... always a "plus" for Americans) ... are far less revealing about what a kid knows than the test that asks for responses.

• Finally, when everyone is required to attend school (and, increasingly, to be able to graduate with a specified level of accomplishment), conflicting outcomes surface. Unlike the Salina school system, which was self-selecting in terms of having kids in class who could probably do the expected work (not that it made it any easier, mind you), "everyone" cannot do that kind of work. If you expect them to, there will be a high rate of failure. If you want them all to succeed, you have to soften the expectations. Period. Critics of education focus on this latter outcome, and claim that schools "dumb-down" the curriculum, or "teach to the middle". Well, bucko ... it's what is going to happen when universal success is required along with universal attendance.

[featphoto]

admin said:

This is the final exam that was issued to an 8th grade class in Salina, KS in 1895. I'm interested to see what ya'll think:

Could You Have Passed
The 8th Grade in 1895?

Probably Not...Take a Look: This is the 1895 eighth-grade final exam from Salina, Kansas.

... etc ...

it's always amusing to look at things this way, kinda like a certain genre of riddle (e.g. if a rooster lays an egg right on the peak of a roof, which way will the egg roll?) but like those riddles the basic premise is flawed. a lot of the material taught in school is dependent on current culture, its terminology and technology ... I doubt an 1895 student would do any better in a 2005 test than the modern day student would have 100 years ago.

I think a lot of the other observations you all have made are valid, and I'm certainly not suggesting that the level of today's teaching or scholarship is in any way adequate, but scenarios like this 1895 test are fallacious.