No Child Left a Dime

I came across an interesting article in Harper's Magazine. The article provided the educational standards that eighth graders must master before graduating to the ninth grade in 1895 and 2000. The following are excerpts from both tests.

1895

Grammar:

1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.

3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.

7-10. Write a composition about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic:

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

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?

U.S. History:

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1848, and 1865.

Orthography:

1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic orthography, etymology, and syllabication?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?

10. Write ten words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography:

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall, and Orinoco.

2000

Writing:

Read the passage and choose the word or group of words that belong in each space. Mark the letter for your answer.

There is nothing like Spring in Texas. Wildflowers__________ plain fields of grass into oceans of blue, pink, and yellow.

F: was transforming

G: transform

H: transforms

J: has transformed

Math:

Tyrone bought a cherry pie for $5.99, a box of doughnut holes for $1.98, and seven doughnuts for $3.43. How much was his total purchase before tax?

F: $9.40

G: $10.30

H: $10.40

J: $11.30

K: $11.40

Social Studies:

Read each question and choose the best answer. Then mark the letter for the answer you have chosen.

Which of the following events occurred last?

A. George Washington was elected President.

B. The civil War was fought.

C. The thirteen colonies were settled.

D. The American Revolution was fought.

Science:

Read each question and choose the best answer. Then fill in the correct answer on your answer document.

Which of these is alive?

A. A rock

B. A fish

C. A star

D. A pencil

This came from an article in Harper's Magazine in 2005.