This is a Test!

Following is the Jersey City, NJ High School Entrance Examination for June 1885, reprinted in the Wall Street Journal in 1992 and in the Educational Excellence Network's News and Views in December 1996. Although, as the Wall Street Journal acknowledges, few attended high school in those days, keep in mind that this was a test given to children at about age 14 or 15 at most, and was based on what was determined to be important knowledge.

Test yourself in algebra, arithmetic, geography, grammar, US history, and compare your answers to those provided by the faculty of Jersey City State College and the Wall Street Journal.

Sharpen Your Pencil, and Begin Now
EXAMINATION FOR ADMISSION
Jersey City High School, June, 1885

America's children need strong academic skills more than ever before. Yet, despite a decade of educational reforms, their achievement remains disappointing.

In a 1986 assessment of 17-year-old juniors, students were asked when World War I occurred. A little more than 40% were unable to place the event "sometime between 1900 and 1950." Last year's National Assessment of Education Progress found that only 6% of American high school graduates are ready for college math. American students rank near the bottom of industrialized countries.

Recently, reader John Harker sent us evidence of what at least some students of a time long past were expected to know: tests given in June 1885 to prospective high school students in Jersey City, NJ. To be fair, in 1885 most Americans did not attend high school. Nevertheless we thought readers might like to inspect the exams. They were first reprinted, along with answers prepared by Jersey City State College faculty, 12 years ago in the now-defunct Union City, NJ, newspaper, the Hudson Dispatch. (We have updated some of those answers.)

ALGEBRA

  1. Define Algebra, an algebraic expression, a polynomial. Make a literal trinomial.
  2. Write a homogeneous quadrinomial of the third degree. Express the cube root of 10ax in two ways.
  3. Find the sum and difference of 3x-4ay+7cd-4xy+16, and 10ay-3x-8xy+7cd-13.
  4. Express the following in its simplest form by removing the parentheses and combining: 1-(1-a) + (1-a+a2)-(1-a+a2-a3).
  5. Find the product of 3+4x+5x2-6x3 and 4-5x-6x2.
  6. Expand each of the following expressions and give the theorem for each: [a+4] 2, [a2-10] 2, [a+4] [a-4].
  7. Divide 6a4+4a3x-9a2x2-3ax3+2x4 by 2a2+2ax-x2.
  8. Find the prime factors of x4-b4 and x3-l.
  9. Find the G.C.D. of 6a2+11ax+3x2 and 6a2+7ax-3x2.
  10. Divide (x2-2xy+y2)/ab by (x-y)/bc and give the answer in its lowest terms.

ARITHMETIC

  1. If a 60 days note of $840 is discounted at a bank at 4 1/2 % what are the proceeds?
  2. Find the sum of the square root of 16.7281 and the square root of .72 1/4.
  3. The interest of $50 from March 1st to July 1st is $2.50. What is the rate?
  4. What is the cost of 19 cwt. 83 lb. of sugar at $98.50 a ton? What is discount? A number?
  5. Divide the difference between 37 hundredths and 95 thousandths by 25 hundred thousands and express the result in words.
  6. The mason work on a building can be finished by 16 men in 24 days, working 10 hours a day. How long will it take 22 men working 8 hours a day?
  7. A merchant sold a quantity of goods for $18,775. He deducts 5% for cash and then finds that he has made 10%. What did he pay for the goods?
  8. A requires 10 days and B 15 days to do a certain piece of work. How long will it take A and B working together to do the work?
  9. By selling goods it 12 1/2 % profit a man clears $800. What was the cost of the goods, and for what were they sold?
  10. A merchant offered some goods for $1170.90 cash, or $1206 payable in 30 days. Which was the better offer for the customer, money being worth 10%?

GEOGRAPHY

  1. What is the axis of the earth? What is the equator? What is the distance from the equator to either pole in degrees, in miles? Why is it warmer at the equator than near the poles?
  2. Name four principal ranges of mountains in Asia, three in Europe, and three in Africa.
  3. Name the capitals of the following countries: Portugal, Greece, Egypt, Persia, Japan, China, Canada, Hindostan, Thibet, Cuba.
  4. Name the states on the west bank of the Mississippi and the capital of each.
  5. Bound New Jersey and name six important cities in the state.
  6. Tell the situation of the following: Detroit, Chicago, Portland, Rio Janeiro, Callao, Venice, Bombay, St. Louis Halifax, Vera Cruz.
  7. Name 10 countries of South America and the capital of each.
  8. Bound Russia and name its capital and largest river.
  9. In what countries is coffee raised? What are the principal exports of France? Of the West Indies?
  10. New York is nearly 75 degrees west of London. When it is noon at the former, what time is it at the latter?

GRAMMAR

  1. Analyze the following: Perseus ground his teeth with rage, for he saw that he had fallen into a trap.
  2. Make a list of all the verbs in the sentence above, and give the principal parts of each of them.
  3. Parse for, had fallen, that, saw.
  4. Give two uses of the hyphen. Copy the sentence below, and punctuate it properly. "Will you please to tell me boys, for what the reindeer is useful".?
  5. Write a sentence containing a noun used as an attribute, a verb in the perfect tense potential mood, and a proper adjective.
  6. Correct [a] It is only me. [b] Who did she invite? [c] Whenever my husband or son take an umbrella down town, they always leave it.
  7. Write the declension of [a] bird, [b] man, [c] fly, [d] fox, [e] it
  8. Write four lines of poetry, giving particular attention to the use of capitals, and to punctuation.
  9. Make three sentences, using the plural of sheep [1] in the nominative case, [2] in the possessive, [3] in the objective.
  10. Write a declarative sentence; change to an imperative, to an interrogative, to an exclamatory, and punctuate.

U.S. HISTORY

  1. What people settled Massachusetts? Where did they land, and what was their character?
  2. Name four Spanish explorers and state what induced them to come to America.
  3. What event do you connect with 1565, 1607, 1620, 1664, 1775?
  4. Name the thirteen colonies that declared their independence in 1776.
  5. Name three events of 1777. Which was the most important and why?
  6. What caused the war of 1812? Who was president during that war? What was the result of it?
  7. What form of government was established in 1789? Into what three branches was the government divided? What do the Senate and House of Representatives constitute?
  8. What caused the Mexican War? What was the result? What American general commanded at the capture of the City of Mexico?
  9. What was the remote and the immediate cause of the great Civil War. Who captured Fort Donelson?
  10. Name three commanders of the Army of the Potomac. In what battle was "Stonewall" Jackson killed? How?

 

ANSWERS:

ALGEBRA

  1. Algebra is the general method of computation in which signs, symbols and commonly the letters of the alphabet are made to represent numbers and quantities. It takes and unknown quantity sought, and as a means of one or more quantities known proceeds till the unknown quantity is discovered. Algebraic expression is a collection of variables and real numbers in which we supply a finite number of operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division or the taking of roots or powers. Polynomial: Turned algebraic expression. Terms are designated by the use of plus or minus signs. Literate trinomial: x+y+z.
  2. 2-x3-2x2+3x+5. Cube root of 10ax, (10ax)1/3
  3. Sum: 6ay + 14cd - 12xy + 3
    Difference: 6x-14ay+4xy+29
  4. a3+a
  5. 36x5-73x3-18x2+x+12
  6. a2+8a-16; a4-20a2+100; a2-16. Theorems: (a+b)2=a2+2ab+b2; (a-b)2=a2-2ab+b2; (a+b) (a-b) = a2-b2
  7. 3a2-ax-2x2
  8. (x2+b2): (x+b) (x-b): (x-1) (x2+x+l)
  9. (2a+3x)
  10. c(x-y)/a

ARITHMETIC

  1. Using a 360-day year, $833.70; using a 365-day year, $833.79.
  2. 4.94
  3. 15%
  4. Using U.S. hundred weight of 100 pounds, $97.66. Percentage rate deducted from certain quantity. Concept of how many.
  5. One thousand, one hundred.
  6. 21 9/11
  7. $16,214.77
  8. Six days.
  9. If profit is based on cost, cost is $8,400 and selling price is $7,200. If based on selling price, cost is $5,600 and selling price is $6,400.
  10. $1,170.90

GEOGRAPHY

  1. The real or imaginary line on which the earth rotates or is supposed to rotate. Imaginary circle around the earth that is everywhere equally distant from the two poles and divides the earth's surface into the northern and southern hemispheres; 90 degrees, and 6,250 miles; solar radiation is most concentrated at the equator for the entire year.
  2. Himalayas, Urals, Hindu Kush and Khangal; Alps, Carpathians and Pyrenees. Atlas, Drakensberg and Ethiopian Highlands.
  3. Lisbon, Athens, Cairo, Tehran (the capital of modern-day Iran), Tokyo, Peking (Beijing), Ottawa, Calcutta (the Capital of India is New Delhi), Lhasa, and Havana.
  4. Louisiana (Baton Rouge), Arkansas (Little Rock), Missouri (Jefferson City), Iowa (Des Moines) and Minnesota (St. Paul).
  5. If importance is population, they are, from largest to smallest: Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth, Trenton and Camden, according to the 1980 census.
  6. Michigan, Illinois, Oregon or Maine, Brazil, Peru, Italy, India, Missouri, Nova Scotia, Mexico.
  7. Argentina (Buenos Aires), Bolivia (La Paz), Brazil (Brasilia), Chile (Santiago), Columbia (Bogota), Ecuador (Quito). Paraguay (Asuncion), Peru (Lima), Uruguay (Montevideo), Venezuela (Caracas).
  8. Moscow, Volga
  9. Tropical countries such as Brazil, Columbia, Venezuela and Nicena. France: Machinery, agricultural products, and transportation equipment. West Indies: Sugar, petroleum, chemicals, bananas and aluminum.
  10. 5 p.m.

GRAMMAR

  1. Unsure of what is meant by "analyze." I have the feeling that this meant something very specific to a grammarian in 1885, but we don't know what.
  2. Ground: grind, ground, ground; saw: see, saw, seen; had fallen: fall, fell, fallen.
  3. For: preposition introducing the prepositional clause "for he saw," which is used to explain Perseus' rage. Had fallen: past perfect tense of the verb fall; this tense is used to indicate that the action of falling took place at a time before the action of seeing. Saw: simple past tense of the verb "to see," used here to indicate a) what caused Perseus' rage, and b) the sequence of events in the sentence.
  4. To join two words used as a compound noun; to indicate division at the end of a line of type. Will you please to tell me, boys, for what the reindeer is useful?
  5. My expertise tells me that I am going to fail this English test, since I'm guessing a lot.
  6. a) It is only I. Predicate nominative. b) Whom did she invite? Object of verb invite. c) Whenever my husband or son takes an umbrella downtown, he always leaves it. The "or" makes the subject grammatically singular; the rest of the sentence applies to either one or the other but not to both at once (as would be the case if the word were "and").
  7. a) bird, birds; b) man, men; c) fly, flies; d) fox, foxes; e) it, its.
  8. Had we but world enough and time
    This coyness, lady, were no crime
    We would sit down and think which way
    To walk and spend our long love's day
  9. The sheep are in the meadow. The sheep's wool was carded. We sheared all the sheep.
  10. John went to the store. John, go to the store. John, will you go to the store? John finally went to the store!

U.S. HISTORY

  1. The English Puritans; Plymouth Rock, Boston, MA; Providence, RI; They were God-fearing hard workers.
  2. Ponce De Leon, Balboa, Coronado, Cortez, to conquer and Christianize the inhabitants.
  3. 1565 -- Pedro Menendez founded St. Augustine, FL. 1607 -- Jamestown settled. 1620 -- 103 Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. 1664 -- British seized New Netherlands from Dutch. 1775 -- Battles of Lexington and Concord.
  4. Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
  5. Battle of Saratoga, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Brandywine. Saratoga was the most important, since Gen. Burgoyne was stopped in his push southward.
  6. Freedom of seas, land-thirst, free trade. James Madison was president. US won. (Historians dispute this.)
  7. Federal government; executive, legislative, judicial; the legislative branch.
  8. Manifest destiny, diplomatic blundering and instability of American government; California, New Mexico and Arizona became part of US and Texas border was established at Rio Grande River; Zachary Taylor.
  9. Remote cause was slavery and immediate cause was secession; Ulysses S. Grant.
  10. George Meade, Ulysses S. Grant and George McClellan; Battle of Chancellorville, by his own men.

The Wall Street Journal, June 9,1992
Network News & Views, July 1992, December 1996

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