Could you pass the entrance exam to get into PHS in 1856?

 

In 1856 students wishing to attend Peoria High School had to get a 75% or higher on the entrance test and then be prepared to pay the $3 tuition cost, about $115 today.  According to an article in the 1981 CREST, only one person met the qualifications. Fourteen potential students were within 5% and were admitted. The following year a different test was used and thirty five students were admitted and then fifty-nine in 1858. The course offerings included Algebra, Latin, Philosophy, Caesar, Geography, Geometry, Physiology, Trigonometry, History, Chemistry, Cicero, Rhetoric, and Virgil.