Can you pass this 8th grade assessment test?
Eighth grade is generally a time we'd rather forget. As we enter our teenage years, hormones are going wild, there's peer pressure to fit in while somehow standing out, and we're exposed to more and more of what the world is actually like. Then there's perhaps the most repressed experience of all: the beginning of the eventual onslaught of standardized testing. Standardized testing usually only affects your own educational outcome; for some kids in the fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades, their scores affect the standing of the entire nation.
Since 1969, the National Center for Education Statistics has administered a nationwide test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) or "Nation's Report Card," to determine how American public and private school students score on a variety of metrics beyond just reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic. Other subjects include geography, science, economics, arts, U.S. history, and even technology and engineering literacy. This test provides a valuable function; with 50 states, we have 50 different educational systems, and keeping track of the achievements across the country requires acute testing and careful data work.
Despite these variations, America's students lag behind many other countries in simple score comparisons in common subjects. 2022 results from the Program for International Student Assessment show that American 15-year-olds earned lower math scores than students in other industrialized nations like Singapore, Australia, and Germany. While students redeemed themselves in reading and science scores, there's one question that's not commonly asked (unless you're an avid game show watcher): How would adults do on those same assessment tests?
To find out, we've compiled 25 sample questions from real NAEP eighth grade tests across a variety of subjects. It's surprisingly difficult; perhaps that's a reflection of how little we learn in grade school translates to our eventual jobs, or else it's an indictment of the strength of our memories. If you're struggling, grab a nearby teen—they may be able to help.
Question #1
- Question: What kind of note is in circle 2?
- Subject: Arts
- Content classification: Music
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2016
Answer #1
A half note.
Question #2
- Question: Multiply 4.9 x 1.5
- Subject: Math
- Content classification: Number properties and operations
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2017
Answer #2
4.9 x 1.5 = 7.35
Question #3
- Question: What is the world's largest ocean?
- Subject: Geography
- Content classification: Space and Place
- Difficulty: Easy
- Year: 2001
Answer #3
The Pacific Ocean.
Question #4
- Question: In the United States, are taxes NOT used for building churches, funding public libraries, building roads, or taking care of parks?
- Subject: Civics
- Content classification: Foundations of American System
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2006
Answer #4
Taxes are not used for building churches.
Question #5
- Question: Were indentured servants different from slaves because they came from the West Indies, were freed at the end of their term, were paid less money, or did much easier work?
- Subject: U.S. History
- Content classification: Economic and Technological Changes
- Difficulty: Easy
- Year: 2006
Answer #5
Indentured servants were freed at the end of their term.
Question #6
- Question: What atoms combine to make up a molecule of water?
- Subject: Science
- Content classification: Physical Science
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2011
Answer #6
Two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.
Question #7
- Question: Major oil-producing nations joined together to form the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as a means of...
- Subject: Geography
- Content classification: Spatial Dynamics & Connections
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2001
Answer #7
...increasing their control of markets and prices for their product.
Question #8
- Question: What do all constitutional governments have: legal limits on political power, a president as the head of government, a bill of rights, or separation of church and state?
- Subject: Civics
- Content classification: Define Civic Life, Politics, Government
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2006
Answer #8
Legal limits on political power.
Question #9
- Question: Which characteristic is shared by all cells, that they need energy, that they reproduce sexually, that they make their own food, or that they move from place to place?
- Subject: Science
- Content classification: Life Science
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2011
Answer #9
All cells need energy.
Question #10
- Question: What is the musical (Italian) name for the symbol in circle 1? What does the symbol tell the performer to do?
- Subject: Arts
- Content classification: Music
- Difficulty: Hard
- Year: 2016
Answer #10
The name of the symbol is piano, and it tells the performer to play quietly.
Question #11
- Question: Joseph's current test scores are 83, 97, 80, 87, and 93. If he earns 100 on his sixth test, by how many points does his average increase?
- Subject: Math
- Content classification: Data analysis, Statistics, and Probability
- Difficulty: Hard
- Year: 2017
Answer #11
His average increases by 2 points.
Question #12
- Question: Switzerland is located in the middle of what mountain range?
- Subject: Geography
- Content classification: Space and Place
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2001
Answer #12
Switzerland is located in the middle of the alps.
Question #13
- Question: Which of the following does the federal government do that state and local governments do not: run public schools, print money, remove state governors from office, or choose members of city councils?
- Subject: Civics
- Content classification: American Democracy
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2006
Answer #13
Print money.
Question #14
- Question: What was the name of the first permanent English settlement in North America?
- Subject: U.S. History
- Content classification: Gathering of People, Cultures, Ideas
- Difficulty: Easy
- Year: 2006
Answer #14
Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America.
Question #15
- Question: Water evaporates and falls back to Earth as rain or snow. What is the primary energy source that drives this cycle?
- Subject: Science
- Content classification: Earth and Space Sciences
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2011
Question #16
- Question: The Monroe Doctrine, the Good Neighbor Policy, and the Alliance for Progress were all United States foreign policy positions relating directly to...
- Subject: U.S. History
- Content classification: Changing Role of America in the World
- Difficulty: Hard
- Year: 2006
Answer #16
Latin America.
Question #17
- Question: Which of the following is an example of genetic engineering: growing a whole plant from a single cell, finding the sequences of bases in plant DNA, inserting a gene into plants that makes them resistant to insects, or attaching the root of one type of plant to the stem of another type of plant?
- Subject: Science
- Content classification: Life Science
- Difficulty: Hard
- Year: 2005
Answer #17
Inserting a gene into plants that makes them resistant to insects.
Question #18
- Question: What is the correct time signature for this music?
- Subject: Arts
- Content classification: Music
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2016
Answer #18
The correct time signature is ¾.
Question #19
- Question: Jared wants to buy a jacket for $49.99, but he has a 30% off coupon. How much is the jacket after the discount?
- Subject: Math
- Content classification: Number properties and operations
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2017
Answer #19
The jacket is $34.99.
Question #20
- Question: Is Florida an example of an isthmus, island, peninsula, or plateau?
- Subject: Geography
- Content classification: Space and Place
- Difficulty: Easy
- Year: 2001
Answer #20
Florida is a peninsula.
Question #21
- Question: The Constitution requires that the President's nominations to the Supreme Court be approved by the Senate. Is this an example of legislative supremacy, federalism, checks and balances, or judicial review?
- Subject: Civics
- Content classification: American Democracy
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2006
Answer #21
This is an example of judicial review.
Question #22
- Question: Who was president during the Second World War?
- Subject: U.S. History
- Content classification: Change and Continuity in American Democracy
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2006
Answer #22
Franklin Roosevelt was president during WWII.
Question #23
- Question: Which layer of Earth is divided into plates: the mantle, the crust, the inner core, or the outer core?
- Subject: Science
- Content classification: Earth and Space Sciences
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2009
Answer #23
The crust.
Question #24
- Question: Was Anne Hutchinson banished from Massachusetts in 1637 because she wanted women to have the right to vote, expressed religious beliefs that threatened Puritan leaders, tried to start a separate colony called Rhode Island, or refused to marry and have children?
- Subject: U.S. History
- Content classification: Gathering of People, Cultures, Ideas
- Difficulty: Medium
- Year: 2006
Answer #24
She was banned because she expressed religious beliefs that threatened Puritan leaders.
Question #25
- Question: The circumference of a piece of wood is 36π centimeters. What is its diameter?
- Subject: Math
- Content classification: Measurement
- Difficulty: Hard
- Year: 2017
Answer #25
Its diameter is 36 centimeters.
