Is There Such a Thing as a Popular Quiz?

 by: Brian Fong

Q. My students have asked me for a popular quiz. Can you recommend one?

A. The answer to that question depends upon what your students mean when they say "popular".

Do they mean a quiz that can tell them if they are "popular", or do they mean a quiz that is popular because everyone likes taking it?

Hmm, maybe I can craft one answer that covers both options. You see, a popular quiz, also know as a popularity quiz, it very popular in itself. Starting at about third grade the concept of being "popular" takes root and children begin to seek the "status" that being popular seems to offer to them. It isn't until much, much later in life that they learn there are more important things than being popular. Chief among the more desirable traits are being noble, honest, truth worthy, and caring. However, for now, let's focus on popular.

A popular quiz purports to measure personality traits that make someone popular. It measures such earth-shaking issues as:

How many parties have you been invited to? How many times a day does someone compliment your clothes? Home many boys (girls) want to be your crush? Do people imitate the "cute" things that you say? Are you always picked first to be on a team?

Supposedly these questions measure your popularity. The sad thing is that many kids believe that these issues are important and either walk away devastated because they are not popular, or have an inflated opinion of themselves because they "passed" the popular quiz.

Let me go on record and state that a popular quiz should be clearly labeled: "For entertainment purposes only". There should be a sub label that says: "If taking this test makes you think that being popular is important then your lights are on but nobody's home".

If your students want a popular quiz, and their intent is to measure their popularity, I would tell them that they have better things to measure in their life. Recommend an honesty quiz, or a help your neighbor quiz, or a what's wrong with drugs quiz. While these may not qualify as a popular quiz, you'll be doing your students a much bigger favor by holding up the mirror of reality to their face than you will by having anything to do with administering a popular quiz.