Public Education In Iowa

Way back when in the dark ages Farm Children in Iowa attended one room schools through grade eight. All of that changed in the 1950s when a wave of School consolidation spread across Iowa. I know. I was a part of that revolution. I attended a one room school through grade six. From grade seven on I attended a large Colsolidated school in Town.

The school house shown above was the very school that My Father and his Siblings attended on Clayton Ridge, near Clayton in Clayton County in the Northeast corner of Iowa in the 1910s and 1920s. It has been restored and stands today as a memory of how it used to be. I recently obtained a copy of the "History of Clayton County, Iowa Schools" produced by the Clayton County Genealogical Society. This book is a complete History of the one room school by townships. I would like to share some of the questions that eighth grade students had to answer in order to graduate:

Geography:

• Name 5 of the most important commercial products of Asia
• Why has Australia been slow to develop?
• What and where are the following: Paris/Rhine/Amazon/Siberia/Caspian/Newfoundland/Himalaya/Greece/Etna/Nome
• Give geographic reasons for the growth of the following cities

Buffalo/Detroit/Memphis/Miami/Seattle

• What is Climate?

Grammar:

• Write a short business letter.
• Illustrate a compound sentence
• Illustrate a complex sentence

Vocal Music:

• Name three good school songs and tell why you would use them in your school.
• Give the meaning of the following terms:

Alto, fortissimo, pianissimo, tenor, soprano, bass

Arithmetic:

• A, B, and C form a partnership. A invest $5,000; B invests $6,000: C invests $7,000. What would be each man's share of a profit of $7,200?
• The distance between two towns is 800 miles. Railroad fare is 3.6 cents a mile. How much cheaper would it be for one person to ride on the train than to drive a car if it takes 40 gallons of gas at 19.9 cents a gallon, 10 quarts of oil at 30 cents a quart, and you allow 3.9 cents a mile for wear on your car? Which way would be cheaper for two people traveling together? For three people?
• Define: interest, commission, per annum, promissory note, indorsement.

Civics:

• What is a direct tax? An indirect tax? A poll tax? What officer list your property for taxation?
• To what officer does a farmer pay his taxes? To what officer would you apply for a marriage license? A hunting license? What officer has charge of the county jail?
• In what years does the General Assembly of Iowa meet? Of how many members is each house of the General Assembly composed?

Of course this was not the whole test. These are but a few of the question that scholars had to answer. Additionally, it should be noted that there were no multiple choice questions.

Please note that the above questions were from the 1929 and 1934 State of Iowa Board of Educational Examiners Uniform County Examinations.