Not DUMBED Down! Wanna BET?

Posted on Monday, July 18 at 12:19 by Diogenes
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 Fermandez, 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. Imagine a college student who went to public school 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? I seriously doubt there is anyone in America who could pass this simple test. Some professors could pass the subjects they have a doctorate in, but they would fail the rest. This is absolute proof that the New World Odor Gang has succeeded in dumbing down the American people. Is it no wonder few Americans realize they are being led to the slaughter? [Edit by Dr.C : Even there are errors in a couple questions, I left them. See if you can find them :) I doubt many current Grade 8's could pass this test on ethier side of the border. I, for one, don't know what a bushel of wheat weighs.]

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  1. Tue Jul 19, 2005 5:24 am
    See this article on the above article:<br />
    <a href="http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.htm">http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.htm</a>

  2. by avatar Jesse
    Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:55 am
    interesting that snopes doesn't say this is a forgery or a fake; it just explains that yes, people were tested on different things. I challenge anyone from the 1800s to drive a car or program a computer, both tasks that many high school students can do easily. This article proves nothing at all, nothing to see here.

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    Every time you complain about the moderators, god kills a kitten.

  3. Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:30 pm
    Jesse's quite right there. Given there is limited time available for formal education and much more we know about this world we inhabit today, choices have to be made as to what to teach and how to teach it. Learning how to gather information for yourself and consider things critically is the main point of it all.

  4. Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:58 pm
    The real issue has nothing to do with US, find a eighth grade exam from NOW in Canada and we can have an intelligent conversation. The 'don't bother looking at this argument cus I said so' just shows how academically lazy some people are. I don't think you know how many kids can program a computer, I suggest it's far lower than you think. That they can USE a computer and manipulate their toys may be a certainty but it's hardly the type of intelligence we want to cultivate in them. Take a look at the numbers of students dropping out of school and it gets pretty scary. Incidentally, I'd love to find a recent literacy survey, the last I found was from 1994 where Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Ontario were at the bottom of the heap and Manitoba and Saskatchewan were at the top. I've never visited the prairies but I've been seeing some good things.

  5. by avatar Jesse
    Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:00 pm
    I know that infinitely more kids today can program a computer than could do so in 1895, which is why I chose that as an example.

    You make it sound like kids are dumber because they don't have as large a stock of trivia (honestly, most of what school teaches *is* trivia). The most important aspect of intelligence is being able to *get* information when needed, whether through memory or through research abilities. Today's society makes the second incredibly easy, and thus makes the first nothing more than a party trick.

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    Every time you complain about the moderators, god kills a kitten.

  6. Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:45 pm
    Apples to oranges Jes
    nice *TRY* thou

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    Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boy.
    -Parliament of Whores



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