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Exhibit A · Real exam papers, 1902–1914

Could you pass a 1914 eighth-grade exam?

The real eighth-grade exams of the 1910s weren't harder math. They were bushels, bank notes and tobacco lectures, and in the two county reports we found (Marion Co. OH 1912, Fayette Co. OH 1914), most kids who sat them failed. Take 15 of the real questions and see if you'd have passed.

11/15to pass, with at least 2 right in every subject. That's Ohio's printed rule: a 70% average and no subject under 50%.
Could you pass? Take the 15 questions

“Should not be used to compare student knowledge then and now.” That's the Bullitt County History Museum on the 1912 Bullitt County test it posts, and we agree. This is a window into what school asked of 13-year-olds, not a contest.

Title page of Boxwell-Patterson Examination Questions, compiled for The Ohio Teacher, Athens, Ohio, 1912. It reads: "A complete list of all questions" used in the Boxwell-Patterson examinations.
Scan: Boxwell-Patterson Examination Questions (1912). Library of Congress / Internet Archive. Public domain. View the page

01 · Who passed

In both reports we found, most kids failed.

182
of 282 students failed

Caveat In the two county reports we found (Marion Co. OH 1912, Fayette Co. OH 1914). Two Ohio counties from a finite archive search, not a statewide rate.

Marion County, Ohio, 1912

62 of 199 passed (31.2%). Top average: 82.

Fayette County, Ohio, May 16, 1914

38 of 83 passed (45.8%). “The last to be held under the Boxwell-Patterson law.”

passed did not pass

Marion Weekly Star, July 6, 1912, column headed "Commencement is held Saturday: Sixty-two out of class of 199 applicants are graduated." It reads: "Out of the 199 applicants taking the Boxwell-Patterson examinations only sixty-two passed."
Scan: Marion Weekly Star, July 6, 1912. Internet Archive. Public domain. View the page
Washington C.H. Daily Herald, June 2, 1914, headline "38 Pass Boxwell Patterson Exam." It reads: "Out of 83 students who tried the Boxwell examination held in this city May 16th, 38 succeeded."
Scan: Washington C.H. Daily Herald, June 2, 1914. Internet Archive. Public domain. View the page

Ohio's rule was printed plainly: at least 50% in every subject and a 70% average. “No age is specified in the law.” Passing earned a township commencement, a diploma and four years of paid high-school tuition.

The exam · 15 questions

Could you pass? Most kids didn't.

In the two county reports we found (Marion Co. OH 1912, Fayette Co. OH 1914), 182 of 282 failed.

Questions: Kentucky, May 1914. Scored with Ohio's printed 1912 rule; Kentucky's own pass mark isn't in the records we found. Answer choices other than the printed answer are ours.

Three questions in each of five subjects. Pick an answer and we'll show what the 1914 study guide printed. These are 1914 questions, not 1912: the 1912 Ohio book prints no answers.

First page of the Kentucky exam in Teachers' and Students' Examinations (Crady, 1914), headed "For County Common School Diploma, May 1914," with the first geography questions.
Scan: Teachers' and Students' Examinations (Crady, 1914). Library of Congress / Internet Archive. Public domain. View the page

02 · The arithmetic

The arithmetic is 5th-to-7th-grade math today. The bushels are the hard part.

29/29
problems map to Common Core grade 5, 6 or 7. None higher.

Caveat Our classification of 29 legible problems (Kentucky 1914, Ohio 1902 and 1911). Common Core is today's standard, not 1912's.

outlined: uses a unit Common Core never names (bushel, peck, cord, acre, rod) · 10 of 29
Ohio arithmetic questions, April 19, 1902, from the Boxwell-Patterson book. Includes: "How many bushels of wheat can be put in a bin 8 feet square and 9 feet high" and "I gave my agent $162.50 with which to buy corn."
Scan: Boxwell-Patterson Examination Questions (1912). Library of Congress / Internet Archive. Public domain. View the page
“How many bushels of wheat can be put in a bin 8 feet square and 9 feet high”Ohio, 1902

You'd need to know a bushel's volume. The exam doesn't give it. Across the 20 Ohio state exams, farm units turn up in 19 of 20 arithmetic sections: bushels in 13, acres in 15, rods in 10.

By our count: 15 problems at grade 5, 4 at grade 6, 10 at grade 7 (all percent, interest or commission).

03 · Business math

All 20 Ohio exams asked about notes, interest or commission.

20/20
arithmetic sections with banking or business math

Caveat 20 Ohio state exams, 1902–1911, as printed in a 1912 study guide. Keyword flags are ours (commission, interest, notes, discount, tax).

Set in type from the 1911 question's numbers (“A note of $115 was given August 1, 1910, drawing interest at 6%”). An illustration, not a real note.

One tile per exam, 1902–1911. Filled = banking or business arithmetic.

  1. 1902
  2. 1902
  3. 1903
  4. 1903
  5. 1903
  6. 1904
  7. 1905
  8. 1905
  9. 1906
  10. 1906
  11. 1907
  12. 1907
  13. 1908
  14. 1908
  15. 1909
  16. 1909
  17. 1910
  18. 1910
  19. 1911
  20. 1911

“What are the proceeds of a note of $142.00 dated August 15, 1901” (1902). “I gave my agent $162.50 with which to buy corn” (1902). Common Core still lists “simple interest … commissions” under 7th grade.

04 · Physiology

17 of 20 physiology sections asked about alcohol, tobacco or stimulants.

Ohio physiology questions, May 14, 1904. Question 10 reads: "Why is tobacco in all its forms more injurious for a boy than for a man?"
Scan: Boxwell-Patterson Examination Questions (1912). Library of Congress / Internet Archive. Public domain. View the page
17/20
physiology sections on alcohol, tobacco or stimulants

Caveat 20 Ohio state exams, 1902–1911. Three have none: 1905-05-13, 1909-04-17, 1910-05-21. Keyword list is ours.

One tile per exam. Filled = asked about alcohol, tobacco or stimulants.

  1. 1902
  2. 1902
  3. 1903
  4. 1903
  5. 1903
  6. 1904
  7. 1905
  8. 1905
  9. 1906
  10. 1906
  11. 1907
  12. 1907
  13. 1908
  14. 1908
  15. 1909
  16. 1909
  17. 1910
  18. 1910
  19. 1911
  20. 1911
“Why is tobacco in all its forms more injurious for a boy than for a man?”Ohio, May 14, 1904
“Is coffee a harmful stimulant?”Ohio state exam
“Why is it especially dangerous to perform surgical operations upon confirmed beer drinkers?”Ohio, 1908

05 · Penmanship

Penmanship was a graded subject on all 20 exams.

20/20
exams graded Writing

Caveat 20 Ohio state exams, 1902–1911, as printed in a 1912 study guide.

One tile per exam. Filled = Writing graded.

  1. 1902
  2. 1902
  3. 1903
  4. 1903
  5. 1903
  6. 1904
  7. 1905
  8. 1905
  9. 1906
  10. 1906
  11. 1907
  12. 1907
  13. 1908
  14. 1908
  15. 1909
  16. 1909
  17. 1910
  18. 1910
  19. 1911
  20. 1911

Kentucky's 1914 key expected students to know “the Spencerian principles,” the strokes of the copybook hand.

06 · Current events

1911: “Who is or was … The Wright Brothers?”

1911
The news was on the history exam.

Caveat Ohio state exams of 1902 and April 15, 1911, two of the 20 Ohio state exams, 1902–1911.

  1. 1902“Recount some of the troubles in South Africa”the Boer War
  2. 1911“Who is or was … Marconi? Gifford Pinchot? The Wright Brothers?”History & government
  3. 1911“Why is the United States building the Panama Canal?”Reading
Ohio exam page, April 15, 1911, United States History section. Question 1 reads: "Who is or was Nathan Hale? Manasseh Cutler? Aaron Burr? Marconi? Gifford Pinchot? The Wright Brothers?"
Scan: Boxwell-Patterson Examination Questions (1912). Library of Congress / Internet Archive. Public domain. View the page

07 · The answer key

The printed answer key never says what the firewood sells for.

Kentucky 1914 arithmetic answers page. The question reads: "How much will a pile of wood 120 ft. long, 4 ft. wide and 6 ft. high bring at $2.33 1-3 per cord?" The printed answer ends at "22½ cords."
Scan: Teachers' and Students' Examinations (Crady, 1914). Library of Congress / Internet Archive. Public domain. View the page
Key: 22½ cordsOur math: $52.50
22½
cords. Then the printed answer stops.

Caveat Kentucky 1914 study guide. The $52.50 (22½ cords at $2.33⅓ a cord) is our math, not printed.

The question asks what the pile will “bring at $2.33 1-3 per cord.” The key works out the volume and the cords and moves on. On another question it admits “Some words seem to have been omitted” from the printed exam.

08 · Spelling

Constantinople, diphtheria, neuralgia: the spelling list.

20
words dictated, Ohio, April 19, 1902. No. 18: Constantinople.

Caveat Ohio 1902 spelling list and Kentucky 1914 dictation sentences, as printed.

  • No. 18 · Ohio 1902Constantinople
  • No. 13 · Ohio 1902diphtheria
  • No. 14 · Ohio 1902neuralgia
  • No. 19 · Ohio 1902Marseilles
  • No. 20 · Ohio 1902Cincinnati
  • Kentucky 1914OMNIPOTENT“God is OMNIPOTENT”
  • Kentucky 1914DEMAGOGUE“The DEMAGOGUE attended…”

The data

Every exam, every problem, every pass report

The 20 Ohio state exams, 1902–1911

As printed in Boxwell-Patterson Examination Questions (1912). Flags are ours, from keyword lists. Tap a column name to sort. CSV
1902-04-198bushel, acreYesYes
1902-05-108acre, rod, cordYesYes
1903-04-16 (printed date; a Thursday, likely a misprint)8bushelYesYes
1903-04-188bushel, acreYesYes
1903-05-098bushel, acre, rodYesYes
1904-05-147bushelYesYes
1905-04-158bushel, acre, rodYesYes
1905-05-138acreYesNo
1906-04-218acre, rod, cordYesYes
1906-05-128rodYesYes
1907-04-208none flaggedYesYes
1907-05-118acreYesYes
1908-04-188bushel, peck, acreYesYes
1908-05-098bushel, acre, rodYesYes
1909-04-178acre, board feetYesNo
1909-05-088bushel, peck, acre, rodYesYes
1910-04-168bushelYesYes
1910-05-218bushel, acre, rodYesNo
1911-04-157bushel, acre, rodYesYes
1911-05-208bushel, acre, rodYesYes
Total19 of 2020 of 2017 of 20

29 arithmetic problems, mapped to Common Core (our classification)

Excerpts are OCR text, uncorrected. Code and grade are ours, checked against the CCSS Math document. Ohio 1902 Q4 is left out (OCR too garbled). CSV

Excerpt (OCR)Topic (ours)Units Common Core never names
Kentucky, May 19141A flock of 100 hens averages 97 eggs a year eacheggs to dozens to dollars5.NBT.B.75—
Kentucky, May 19142At $1.47 a bushel, what cost 17 bushels, 3 pecks, 2 quarts, 1 pintdry-measure conversion with fractions5.MD.A.15bushel, peck
Kentucky, May 19143Find the interest on $350 for 3 years, 11 months, and 29 dayssimple interest7.RP.A.37—
Kentucky, May 19144How much will a pile of wood 120 ft. long, 4 ft. wide and 6 ft. high bringvolume of a rectangular pile, then cords5.MD.C.55cord
Kentucky, May 19145Which is the cheaper to buy for a dressunit-price comparison6.RP.A.36—
Kentucky, May 19146One bushel of corn on the cob occupies approximatelyvolume then divide by a decimal5.MD.C.55bushel
Kentucky, May 19147Corn shrinks about 1-5 its entire weight the first 6 monthspercent, interest and loss7.RP.A.37bushel
Kentucky, May 19148Multiply the svim of 6.205 and 25 by their differencedecimal operations5.NBT.B.75—
Kentucky, May 19149Add V2+%+V5 to 2.45+.005add fractions and decimals5.NF.A.15—
Kentucky, May 191410If .16 of a hired man's monthly v/ages is $4.80find the whole from a percent6.RP.A.36—
Ohio, Apr 19, 19021Define factor, ratio, commission, least common multiple, interestvocabulary: factor/LCM, ratio, commission/interest7.RP.A.37—
Ohio, Apr 19, 19022How do you find the cost price when the selling price and rate of gain are givenprofit/loss and present worth7.RP.A.37—
Ohio, Apr 19, 19023I sold an article for $17.50percent gain/loss7.RP.A.37—
Ohio, Apr 19, 19025I gave my agent $162.50 with which to buy corncommission7.RP.A.37bushel
Ohio, Apr 19, 19026Express in figures: one hundred and seven thousand two hundred and six and eighteen ten-thousandthsread/write decimals5.NBT.A.35—
Ohio, Apr 19, 19027How many bushels of wheat can be put in a bin 8 feet square and 9 feet highvolume, then a memorized bushel size5.MD.C.55bushel
Ohio, Apr 19, 19028What are the proceeds of a note of $142.00 dated August 15, 1901bank discount on a note7.RP.A.37—
Ohio, Apr 19, 19029Find the area in acres of a piece of land .5 mile long and .3 mile broadarea with decimals, then acres4.MD.A.35acre
Ohio, Apr 19, 190210I owned % of a farm and soldfraction word problem5.NF.A.15acre
Ohio, Apr 15, 19111A field 32 rods by 21 rods yieldedarea in rods, acres, bushels, price5.MD.A.15rod, acre, bushel
Ohio, Apr 15, 19112Add 184930, 590526, 78532, 751, 2638901, 6739, and 13607multi-digit add, multiply, divide6.NS.B.26—
Ohio, Apr 15, 19113A note of $115 was given August 1, 1910, drawing interest at 6%interest on a note7.RP.A.37—
Ohio, Apr 15, 19114Reduce .45625 to a common fraction of the lowest termsdecimal to fraction; decimal ops5.NBT.B.75—
Ohio, Apr 15, 19115What will it cost to carpet a floor 27 by 16 feetarea plus unit conversion4.MD.A.35—
Ohio, Apr 15, 19116What, part of a month is 5 days, 15 hourstime units as a fraction5.MD.A.15—
Ohio, Apr 15, 19117If ten men can dig a ditch 36compound proportion7.RP.A.37rod
Ohio, Apr 15, 19118lUustrate least common multiple by a problemleast common multiple6.NS.B.46—
Ohio, Apr 15, 19119At what price each must I sell oranges that cost 35markup percent7.RP.A.37—
Ohio, Apr 15, 191110The difference between ^ of Afraction word problem5.NF.A.15—

Pass reports we found

The only two newspaper reports of Boxwell results we found in the Internet Archive. CSV

PlaceExamTook itPassedPass rateTop averageSource
Marion County, Ohiospring 1912 (Boxwell-Patterson)1996231.2%82Marion Weekly Star, 1912-07-06
Fayette County, Ohio (exam at Washington Court House)1914-05-16833845.8%not givenWashington Court House Daily Herald, 1914-06-02
Both reports28210035.5%

Methods

How we counted

  1. Split the 1912 Ohio book into exams. It prints 20 state exams (April and May, 1902–1911) and county sets from 1900–1901. Story counts use the 20 state exams only.
  2. Flagged each section with keyword lists. Farm units, business math (commission, interest, notes, discount, tax) and alcohol/tobacco/stimulants. Then we mapped 29 legible arithmetic problems to Common Core codes by hand.
  3. Took pass counts from the newspapers. Two reports, two Ohio counties. The quiz uses Kentucky's May 1914 exam and its printed answers, scored with Ohio's printed rule.

What is printed, and what is ours

Printed: every exam question, the Kentucky answers, the Ohio pass rule and the newspaper pass counts.

Ours: OCR cleanup, splitting the book into exams, the keyword flags, the Common Core grades, the quiz's wrong answer choices, applying Ohio's rule to the Kentucky quiz, the $52.50 firewood price and every percentage.

Not verified: Kentucky's own diploma pass mark; 2 of the 11 county sets the publisher mentions (unreadable); any pass rates beyond the two reports; who wrote the Kentucky answers.

Quiz details. Question wording is from the printed exam, trimmed to one part where a question had several (we say so on the card). OCR noise in answers is fixed only where the printed text makes it plain. Each subject scores correct out of 3; you pass with an average of at least 70% and no subject under 50%, which works out to 11 or more of 15 with at least 2 in every subject.

Not claimed: that kids were smarter then, that the test was impossible, or that every American child took it. The Bullitt County History Museum says of the 1912 Bullitt County test it posts that it “should not be used to compare student knowledge then and now.”

Sources

  • Boxwell-Patterson Examination Questions, comp. Williams, The Ohio Teacher, Athens OH, 1912. Internet Archive (Library of Congress copy). Public domain.
  • Teachers' and Students' Examinations, ed. Crady, Cynthiana KY, © 1914. Internet Archive (Library of Congress copy). Public domain.
  • Marion Weekly Star, July 6, 1912. Internet Archive. Public domain.
  • Washington C.H. Daily Herald, June 2, 1914. Internet Archive. Public domain.
  • Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, © 2010 NGA Center / CCSSO. PDF. Used for standard codes and one quoted phrase.
  • Bullitt County History Museum, 1912 Bullitt County test page. Quoted caveat only.

Downloads

Ohio state examsArithmetic mapPass reportsQuiz questions

Page from the 1912 Ohio book explaining the Boxwell-Patterson law. It reads: applicants "must make a minimum grade of 50% and an average of 70% in order to pass" and "No age is specified in the law."
Scan: Boxwell-Patterson Examination Questions (1912). Library of Congress / Internet Archive. Public domain. View the page

Scan credits. Boxwell-Patterson Examination Questions (1912). Library of Congress / Internet Archive. Public domain. Teachers' and Students' Examinations (Crady, 1914). Library of Congress / Internet Archive. Public domain. Marion Weekly Star, July 6, 1912. Internet Archive. Public domain. Washington C.H. Daily Herald, June 2, 1914. Internet Archive. Public domain. All visuals other than scans are drawn in code from the data.

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