Warning: This Eighth Grade Exam May Make You Feel Bad About Yourself
A 1912 eight grade exam copy has gone viral and the questions are ridiculous!
— -- This may sound hard to believe, but there was a time before multiple choice, scantrons, and fill-in-the-blank forms. It was a time when a calculator was a very smart person…who calculated stuff.
During this time, a little more than a century ago, middle school students had it tough.
We know this because someone donated a copy of an eighth-grade exam from 1912 to the Bullitt County history Museum Shepherdsville, KY. The exam went viral and people everywhere are starting to realize how dumb they might be in comparison.
The test was administered by Bullitt County Schools and it was known as the "Common Exam." In this rural county, a good score on the exam meant a high school scholarship. A secondary education was a rarity back then, and this test was the only way many farm children were able to attend high school. No pressure, right?
Below are some of the questions from the exam. Take a look to see if you would have been smart enough to get into high school 101 years ago. Before attempting this, get off Google and do not ask Siri! The answers are at the end.
1. Write in words .000003
2. Solve:5.8+5.14-59.112
3. Name in the order of their size the three largest states in the united States.
4. What is a copyright? Patent right?
5. Define Cerebrum; Cerebellum.
6. Describe the Battle of Quebec.
7. Name the last battle of the Civil War, War of 1812, French and Indian War and the commanders in each battle?
8. How does the liver compare in size with other glands in the human body? Where is it located? What does it secrete.
1. three millionths
2. -48.172
3. Texas, California, Alaska (in 1912, it would have been Montana since Alaska wasn't a state)
4. Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time. A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time, in exchange for the public disclosure of the invention.
5. The Cerebellum, located just above the brain stem, controls balance, equilibrium and fine movement coordination. The Cerebrum is located in the front portion of the forebrain, and determines intelligence, personality, interpretation of sensory impulses and motor function. It also helps with planning and organization as well as touch sensation.
6. The Battle of Quebec was fought on December 31, 1775 between American Continental Army forces and the British defenders of the city of Quebec, early in the American Revolutionary War. The battle was the first major defeat of the war for the Americans, and it came at a high price. General Richard Montgomery was killed, Benedict Arnold was wounded, and Daniel Morgan and more than 400 men were taken prisoner.
7. Civil War: Battle of Columbus, Georgia on 16 Apr 1865; commanders were Union General James H. Wilson and Confederate Major General Howell Cobb.
War of 1812: By date, the last battle was in February 1815 at Fort Bowyer, Alabama in which a British force of at least 3000 attacked a smaller American force of fewer than 400 led by fort commander William Lawrence who surrendered on 11 Feb 1815. However the generally recognized last battle of the war was the Battle of New Orleans with Andrew Jackson leading the Americans and Edward Pakenham among the British.
French and Indian War: Battle of Signal Hill on 15 Sep 1762 with British forces led by William Amherst and French forces led by Guillaume de Bellecombe.
8. The liver is the largest gland in the body. It lies below the diaphragm in the abdominal-pelvic region of the abdomen. It secretes bile.
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