An eighth-grade examination

Recently I received an e-mail from someone, It is the eighth grade final exam from Salina Kansas in 1895. There are several sections for the exam, the first one was grammar. Since I would be away from the house for a few hours, I took the test with me and started to do the quiz.

One of the things we have to understand about this test is that the students had been studying these rules before they were tested. It isn't as if they walked into the classroom and the teacher said here's the test. So for all of you who have gotten this e-mail, let's not be blown away by it. The first question asks for nine rules using capital letters.

My answers were:
beginning of a sentence
proper name
each line of a poem

each line displayed in an outline
proper noun
personal titles
executive titles
professional titles
abbreviations

Their answers were:

capitalize the first word in a sentence

capitalize the pronoun I and the interjection O

capitalize the first word in quotation

capitalize all nouns referring to the deity in the Bible and other sacred books

use a capital letter for president and presidency when they refer to the office

use a capital letter for official titles before the name of officials

capitalize proper nouns and adjectives formed from proper nouns

capitalize every word except conjunctions articles and short prepositions in the titles of works of literature, music, art, books.

When I first saw a test, I was a little spooked by it. But as I sat and read through things like arithmetic, geography, and history I realize that I did know it, it was a matter of sitting still long enough to find the answers. And giving names to the items. It has been a long time since I thought in terms of prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, and articles.

In the arithmetic section for example, it asks how much 6720 pounds of coal costs at six dollars per ton. Although we probably are NOT ordering coal in 2008, we instinctively know that 1 ton equals 2000 pounds and then if we divide 6720 x 2000 and take it times six dollars were going to get $20.16. The students are also asked to write a check, a promissory note, and a receipt.

Originally, I had thought to examine each section of this test in the blog. It is at best, laborious. Although I do invite you to go to the following website for the answers. YES! I had the test AND the answers and the real drill for me was to find the answers! :)

www.barefootsworld.net/1895examcomp

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