Can you pass an 8th grade exam from 1912?

[Syt]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/11/public-education-100-year_n_2456991.html
















If you're a dirty rotten cheater, you can loo up the answers here: http://bullittcountyhistory.org/bullitthistory/bchistory/schoolexam1912ans.html

[Monoriu]

Spelling - I should get most of the words right except antecedent, rhinoceros, eneeavor.  I'll write "diagramme" instead of "diagram".

Arithmatic - 1 is ok.  2, I don't understand the question.  Plus 5.14-59.112?  What does that hyphen mean?  Minus? 3. No, don't know the relationship between yard and feet. 4: ok.  5. What does a/c mean? 6 is ok, given time.  7 is ok if I am not required to list the equations that I use.  I don't solve these questions with equations; I do trial and error only.  8: I'll add 30 to 40, but I am quite sure that that is wrong.  9: nope, can't do mile feet conversion.  10: Don't know what cord means.

Grammar: I'll get zero in all of these, except 5. James is struck by William.

Geography: I know the answers to 5 (assuming Servia is Serbia), 7, 8 (partial.  California is largest, followed by Texas?  Alaska isn't formally part of the union in 1912, right?), 9 (only know Andes, Alps and Himalaya), and 10. I'll get zero for all the rest.

Physiology: 1. Liver is the second largest organ, after the lungs.  It is located on the right hand side of the Abdomen under the lungs. It secretes...stuff.  2. [white flag] 3. The heart has four parts and it pumps blood throughout the body 4. Blood is purified in the kidneys.  5. The Brain. 6. [white flag] 7. It connects the brain and the nervous system of the rest of the body and is responsible for reflex action and stuff like breathing. 8. So that we can pass this bullshit exam So that I can get rich by becoming a doctor So that we can maintain good health  9. Eat whatever the hell I want to keep myself in a good mood Sufficient sleep, 8 glasses of water a day, balanced diet, exercise 3 times a week, 30 minutes each session, go see a doctor if something is wrong.

Civil government: 1, should be able to write some crap to get some partial points. 2. Local, state, federal and Borg 3. Sheriff for policing, treasurer to collecting taxes, education officer for, well, education, fire officers for fire, trash collector for collecting trash (I made this up), 4. BS through to get partial points 5. President: sign law and lead executive government, act as commander in Chief. Veto power is the power to veto laws passed by Congress, Congress can overule veto power by 2/3 supermajority 6. tax, make laws, regulate interstate commerce, pass budgets, declare war, repeal laws.  Denied: regulate speech, grab money 7: [write random number instead of white flag.] 8: natural born US citizen, 40 years old for president.  US citizen for vice president and governor 9: BS through to get 1 or 2 sympathy marks 10: ditto

History: 1. I bet that St. Lawrance River is discovered by a dude named St. Lawrence.  2. [sketch of white flag] 3. The English settled all these except Florida which was settled by the Spanish 4. Antietam (civil war).  5. The British won and the French lost 6. The US invaded Canada, and the British burned down the White House. 7. Lincoln was assassinated and he died in office.  8. I know this is wrong but I'll write Battle of Appomattox anyway (commanders: Lee and Grant).  9: Bill Clinton, just for the heck of it.  10: Edison for all. 

[Eddie Teach]

Fun fact: Grumbler was on the committee that adopted that exam.

[Grey Fox]

No, I cannot. I can't do math(s) in english.

[grumbler]

Fun fact: Grumbler was on the committee that adopted that exam.

False.  I was, in fact, still in my third year of eighth grade when that exam was adopted.

[Razgovory]

Who discovered the Pacific?  Some Chinese guy who looked out of his window.

[alfred russel]

Fun fact: Grumbler was on the committee that adopted that exam.

False.  I was, in fact, still in my third year of eighth grade when that exam was adopted.

[DGuller]

I highly doubt that this is indeed an 8th grade exam, this has all the makings of an urban legend.  And even if it is an 8th grade exam, then the only point to be made here is to highlight the uselessness of the rote memorization teaching style.

[Admiral Yi]

It looks very much like an 8th grade test to me. 

[CountDeMoney]

I highly doubt that this is indeed an 8th grade exam, this has all the makings of an urban legend.  And even if it is an 8th grade exam, then the only point to be made here is to highlight the uselessness of the rote memorization teaching style.

Yes, DG....not only is it a forgery, but a poor forgery at that, what with rote memorization as a teaching method so widespread during the Victorian era.

[Syt]

I highly doubt that this is indeed an 8th grade exam, this has all the makings of an urban legend.  And even if it is an 8th grade exam, then the only point to be made here is to highlight the uselessness of the rote memorization teaching style.

Which is why they went to the whole trouble of creating a rather elaborate Bullitt County Museum website.

http://bullittcountyhistory.org/bullitthistory/contents.html

[Ed Anger]

 

[Admiral Yi]

[Razgovory]

I highly doubt that this is indeed an 8th grade exam, this has all the makings of an urban legend.  And even if it is an 8th grade exam, then the only point to be made here is to highlight the uselessness of the rote memorization teaching style.

Yeah, I'm sure the county genealogical society is big into forgeries.  This doesn't look out of place in an 8th grade exam.  Some things are different from when I was in school, for instance we didn't learn physiology but were taught cell structure.  Sketching Sir Walter Raleigh is a new one on me though.  There are many questions that aren't rote memorization for instance "what are the causes of the war of 1812" or "why do we study physiology".

[celedhring]

I would probably fail most of the US history and US geography questions, bar the easiest ones (I'd too say that the Civil War finished with the Battle of Appomattox, just because). I'd probably fail the grammar question because I forgot most of the grammar theory since my school days. I'm confident I'd pass the other sections.

Would I be wrong if I answered with FDR, Kennedy and Clinton in the president-related questions? 

Question 7 in Government - did they make pupils memorize the EVs of each state? Wow.