Thanks for pointing out this website, but I wouldn't necessarily discount
the exam in question as being for eighth graders in 1895, as this website
does. In many places around the country during that time period, eighth
grade graduates could take six weeks of "normal school" training and be
certified as teachers. In fact, this is how my grandfather became a teacher
in Nebraska about this time. Perhaps this was more common in the West and
Mid-west than in the East. In some rural districts desperate for teachers,
eighth grade graduates might even forego the training and start teaching
after successfully completing the certification examination given by the
county superintendent of schools.

Historical evidence I have seen on school lesson plans and requirements from
the period suggest it is well within the realm of possibility that this
could be an authentic eighth grade examination from the 1890s.

Sharon M. Howe, Processing Archivist
Washington State Archives Central Branch
Bledsoe-Washington Building
400 E. University Way MS7547
Ellensburg, WA 98926-7547
Phone: 509-963-2136
e-mail: [log in to unmask]



I found this web site on Google when I was trying to answer one of the
questions. ;-D
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/a/1895exam.htm 

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