What replaced the bison or buffalo when it became extinct in North America? The answer is cattle. This is a question asked during the first round of Palos Verdes High School’s highly anticipated, annual Scholar Quiz. Excitement is in the air as Scholar Quiz has returned, just in time to pump students up for the upcoming STAR and AP tests looming around the corner.

“I think Scholar Quiz is a really good idea because it’s fun and also very school based. Competitions in schools are awesome things to have! I have never been to see a match but I heard it’s really enjoyable and funny to watch!” said PVHS Sophomore Paloma Williams.

Scholar Quiz is an annual event which conveniently occurs just before STAR and AP exams. This is done intentionally, to “fire up students for AP Exams and STAR testing,” said Ms. Tecia Barton, PV High teacher who organizes the annual Scholar Quiz.
“The academics extend beyond math, science and history but include the academics of art, music, current events, silly-nonsense.  Every student can participate because every student knows something that will be asked!” said Barton.

“It’s just a game and the competition is fun.” said a noted Scholar Quiz participant, Nick Spelta.

Scholar Quiz’s premise is the same as that of the popular game ‘Jeopardy’. Each team includes four PV students. The the game consists of two teams of four students each, a Reader, Judge, and a Scorer.

Seeing as Scholar Quiz is much like ‘Jeopardy’, Scholar Quiz participant Nick Spelta prepared by “[watching] Jeopardy with [his] team.”

As with Jeopardy, there are frequently interesting moments throughout Scholar Quiz. One of Barton’s favorite moments was when a mother stepped up to the plate and answered a question on behalf of her child’s team because they could not figure out the answer to a given question.

In the first round of Scholar Quiz this year, questions about topics from Greek Gods to extinct animals appeared.

The questions are created by staff members as well as purchased through various companies who serve universities, colleges, and other schools with ‘scholar quiz’ type programs.

Scholar Quiz did not actually originate at PV High- it is an idea from Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach. Mr. Cooper, former PV High Econ teacher and Football coach, and  Barton, PV High teacher, took the idea from Costa.  Both teachers attended and taught at Mira Costa High School. Cooper approached Barton, and PV High’s Scholar Quiz began in 2005.

Barton and Cooper decided to bring Scholar Quiz to PV High to “celebrate academics. Overall, fire up students for AP Exams and STAR testing; bring the school together for a week during lunch to have a good time celebrating academics in a non-traditional classroom setting; teachers, staff and students together for one week having academic fun.” said Barton.

The first year, Scholar Quiz had 32 teams. It now has 64 teams, with teams having to be turned down every year.
“The hopes was that PVHS’ winner would compete against the MCHS’ winner…and possibly spread the game to Penn, Redondo and other schools in the South Bay.  Maybe one day.” said Barton. Barton is working on getting that match to happen some day, but “the biggest hurdle is timing. We do Scholar Quiz prior to test seasons. Mira Costa holds Scholar Quiz at the end of the year after testing.” said Barton.

There are three types of questions asked in the Scholar Quiz- Toss Up, Bonus, and Lightning Round questions. A toss up question is one that either team can answer. The first team raising a placard is given the first opportunity to answer. If they answer incorrectly,  the second team has a chance to answer the same question. A toss up question may lead to a Bonus Round. The Bonus Round includes a specific topic with four questions. This round is where teammates work together to come up with the final answer. Only the team that wins the Toss Up can benefit from the Bonus Round. A Lightning Round question is one where ten questions are given in quick succession to the teams, with each team being allowed to answer only once. If a team answers a Lightning Round question incorrectly, they are penalized with a loss of points.

“Students who participate have an opportunity to take home a $1000 scholarship split between teammates. [They gain] motivation to start cracking the books and get ready for AP Exams and STAR testing. [They get] to show off their knowledge..participate in an event that extends beyond athletics, drama, music and other popular avenues of school involvement.” said Barton.