Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

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TreehugginCowgirl
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by TreehugginCowgirl »

I did better on the in-person test than the audition, but I'd have to agree that the mock game/interview has more to do with selection than the test scores. However, it's not how many right answers you get. It's more speaking up and ringing in even it's only a guess. The last thing the show wants is three people clamming over and over again. That makes for boring television. I think I only got one question right in my mock game, but I kept guessing when we were all stumped anyways. Also, geographical location matters as well. They want people representing as many of their stations as possible. I think being from the less-represented states (like NM in my case) also helps you get the call.
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by Magna »

davey wrote:
Magna wrote:
Spaceman Spiff wrote: I think the in-person quiz is more a "sanity check" (i.e., to make sure the person in the room is indeed the person who took the online test).
Probably also weeding out people who might have gotten some illicit help on the online test (i.e., cheated). And secondarily, telling people to expect a written test probably serves as a deterrent.
Except that there's no way they could determine such a thing by a difference in test scores - nor, if you get a passing score at the audition and perform admirably, would they have any reason to.
Well, coordinators have said at auditions that they don't want contestants who do great on the online test but only mediocre on the written one. If it were just a matter of achieving a certain score on the written test, they probably wouldn't have mentioned the online score at all. There are several reasons (not all of which are bad) why there might be a big drop in someone's score on the written test. But the coordinators don't have to decide which one is the real one - they're only deciding whether someone should or shouldn't be on the show.
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by EndlessEntropy »

So for the written test, is it generally not a problem, writing down your answers fast enough? That was a bit of a problem for me, typing some of the longer answers in the 15 seconds after thinking. How long do they give you for the written test?
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by immaf »

I think it's something like 8 seconds. That doesn't sound like much but, for me, writing is sooooo much faster. It always felt like I had more time on the in-person test compared to the online test.
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by RandyG »

TreehugginCowgirl wrote:I did better on the in-person test than the audition, but I'd have to agree that the mock game/interview has more to do with selection than the test scores. However, it's not how many right answers you get. It's more speaking up and ringing in even it's only a guess. The last thing the show wants is three people clamming over and over again. That makes for boring television. I think I only got one question right in my mock game, but I kept guessing when we were all stumped anyways. Also, geographical location matters as well. They want people representing as many of their stations as possible. I think being from the less-represented states (like NM in my case) also helps you get the call.
If there's one stumper after another, I could see guessing to at least liven up the round. But in general I'd say that frequent guessing in the mock game is not a good idea. I can't imagine they would want somebody on stage who's continually guessing and getting most of them wrong.

I'd agree with the apparent consensus that once you get to the audition the interview and mock game are the most important elements. Provided you don't blow the written test, they know that you've got the knowledge goods. Given that they audition 4,000 for 400 spots, so they really want to pick out the people who will demonstrate right there that they're ready to step out on the stage.

They could certainly make the cutoff higher than (the assumed) 35 and still be reasonably sure of getting a solid group of auditioners/contestants -- after all the 4,000 are randomly selected from a much larger pool to even get to the audition -- but they've determined over time that if you got 35+ (or so) you're good enough in that department. I remember from my audition that eventually got me the call -- I failed twice in prior years -- out of more than 50 people in the room at least 1/3 did quite well or better on the interview/mock game.... and surely not even close to that number got on the show.
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by davey »

Magna wrote:
davey wrote:
Magna wrote:
Spaceman Spiff wrote: I think the in-person quiz is more a "sanity check" (i.e., to make sure the person in the room is indeed the person who took the online test).
Probably also weeding out people who might have gotten some illicit help on the online test (i.e., cheated). And secondarily, telling people to expect a written test probably serves as a deterrent.
Except that there's no way they could determine such a thing by a difference in test scores - nor, if you get a passing score at the audition and perform admirably, would they have any reason to.
Well, coordinators have said at auditions that they don't want contestants who do great on the online test but only mediocre on the written one. If it were just a matter of achieving a certain score on the written test, they probably wouldn't have mentioned the online score at all. There are several reasons (not all of which are bad) why there might be a big drop in someone's score on the written test. But the coordinators don't have to decide which one is the real one - they're only deciding whether someone should or shouldn't be on the show.
Why wouldn't the "real one" be the one just taken in the room, which probably also has an objective cutoff? Exactly why there's little reason for them to concern themselves with how anybody did before. Maybe to the coordinators "mediocre" means below 35.
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by Magna »

davey wrote:Why wouldn't the "real one" be the one just taken in the room, which probably also has an objective cutoff? Exactly why there's little reason for them to concern themselves with how anybody did before. Maybe to the coordinators "mediocre" means below 35.
We just know what they've said, not why they said it. There might or might not be an objective cutoff for the in-person test, but what they said was that if someone scored high on the online test and mediocre on the in-person one, it wouldn't bode well for that auditioner. From the fact that they made a comparison between the online score and the in-person one, I take it there is some comparison involved, at least sometimes. But I think they are probably intentionally vague.
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by Rex Kramer »

TreehugginCowgirl wrote:I did better on the in-person test than the audition, but I'd have to agree that the mock game/interview has more to do with selection than the test scores. However, it's not how many right answers you get. It's more speaking up and ringing in even it's only a guess. . . . Also, geographical location matters as well. They want people representing as many of their stations as possible. . .
Also -- for the benefit of those of you who have not been hanging around on the Boards long enough to have heard this already -- they really really really want people who know how to follow directions. If Maggie says, "Speak up!" and you don't immediately start bellowing, that's a red flag for them. What are you going to do on taping day, when time is money? People who display a charming personality while still reacting instantly and obediently to the contestant coordinators are most likely to be selected for the show.

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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by georgespelvin »

I have not gotten an audition yet after taking the online test (despite having most assuredly passed it on a couple of occasions). When you get selected to audition, do they score the in-person test and dismiss the folks that don't pass like they did in the pre-online days, or does everyone that takes the in-person test get to do a mock game and interview?
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by Magna »

georgespelvin wrote:I have not gotten an audition yet after taking the online test (despite having most assuredly passed it on a couple of occasions). When you get selected to audition, do they score the in-person test and dismiss the folks that don't pass like they did in the pre-online days, or does everyone that takes the in-person test get to do a mock game and interview?
There was some discussion about this a while back. In recent years, no one said they had seen anyone dismissed after the in-person test.
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by FireAntsDefense »

Magna wrote:
georgespelvin wrote:I have not gotten an audition yet after taking the online test (despite having most assuredly passed it on a couple of occasions). When you get selected to audition, do they score the in-person test and dismiss the folks that don't pass like they did in the pre-online days, or does everyone that takes the in-person test get to do a mock game and interview?
There was some discussion about this a while back. In recent years, no one said they had seen anyone dismissed after the in-person test.
I auditioned in December 2012 and no one was dismissed. I reckon giving everyone a mock game is faster than waiting for someone to grade all the tests.
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by Volante »

FireAntsDefense wrote:
Magna wrote:
georgespelvin wrote:I have not gotten an audition yet after taking the online test (despite having most assuredly passed it on a couple of occasions). When you get selected to audition, do they score the in-person test and dismiss the folks that don't pass like they did in the pre-online days, or does everyone that takes the in-person test get to do a mock game and interview?
There was some discussion about this a while back. In recent years, no one said they had seen anyone dismissed after the in-person test.
I auditioned in December 2012 and no one was dismissed. I reckon giving everyone a mock game is faster than waiting for someone to grade all the tests.
Also, they're not gonna walk of shame you. Odds of getting on, based on the accepted audition pool, are 1 in 4, 1 in 5. They've got a built in safety factor keeping you off if you don't measure up.

(They also said, when I went, that "Everyone in this room is in the pool." But...again...)
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by skullturf »

My only audition (so far) was in September 2012. They took a break during which they graded our written tests, but when they came back, they didn't dismiss anybody, and we all played a few questions of the mock game.
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by econgator »

skullturf wrote:My only audition (so far) was in September 2012. They took a break during which they graded our written tests, but when they came back, they didn't dismiss anybody, and we all played a few questions of the mock game.
Since the advent of the online test, I've never seen anyone dismissed from an audition.
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by Dr. J »

EndlessEntropy wrote:So for the written test, is it generally not a problem, writing down your answers fast enough? That was a bit of a problem for me, typing some of the longer answers in the 15 seconds after thinking. How long do they give you for the written test?
Unlike the online test, you can also change/rethink your answers. I had enough time to scribble the gist of the clue for a few and go back and figure them out after instagetting others. The in-person test seemed easier to me, but that's anecdotal. Don't stress about that test as much as acing the interview!
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by Jeffreygallup »

The only way to answer this definitively would be if a representative sample of actual contestants revealed their scores; likewise for for others who passed but did not get the call. I believe I luckily got a 49 at an in-person audition; did not get the call. (I only got a 39 or 40 on Tuesday's exam). I believe Seaborgium mentioned in another thread that he got a 34 on one test; yet that was hardly predictive of whether he would be chosen for the show (or whether he would succeed, obviously).

My guess is like the others': it's primarily your performance in the interview and playing the game at the live audition that count. After all, the producers want an exciting show that gets viewers... Although, if I were the producers, I might be on the lookout for a Ken Jennings II, since his long run did (if I recall) boost ratings. Think DiMaggio or the megamillions lottery.
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by dhkendall »

Jeffreygallup wrote:The only way to answer this definitively would be if a representative sample of actual contestants revealed their scores; likewise for for others who passed but did not get the call. I believe I luckily got a 49 at an in-person audition; did not get the call. (I only got a 39 or 40 on Tuesday's exam). I believe Seaborgium mentioned in another thread that he got a 34 on one test; yet that was hardly predictive of whether he would be chosen for the show (or whether he would succeed, obviously).

My guess is like the others': it's primarily your performance in the interview and playing the game at the live audition that count. After all, the producers want an exciting show that gets viewers... Although, if I were the producers, I might be on the lookout for a Ken Jennings II, since his long run did (if I recall) boost ratings. Think DiMaggio or the megamillions lottery.
This is exactly why for the BoD Tournament, they're inviting back Ken, and Brad, and Bob Harris, and Eddie, and Frank, etc. - all contestants who made great TV and who had great stories to tell. I think also the fact that there's very few "bland" people that made it to 5 games or more is also telling as well. (The only ones I could think of didn't even win one game). It is very important to be interesting for television, and I think most of us are (our "introduce yourself" thread bears that out), which is also why I think more than half of the regulars here are also former contestants.
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by John Boy »

demomoke wrote:Online score was never brought up in any of my three auditions, so I'm guessing it means nothing once you've been chosen.
You've been invited to three auditions in the era of the online test?
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by John Boy »

John Boy wrote:
demomoke wrote:Online score was never brought up in any of my three auditions, so I'm guessing it means nothing once you've been chosen.
You've been invited to three auditions in the era of the online test?

I'm bumping this to keep it up near the top so I can get an answer. I have wondered whether people who have been to an audition following an online quiz, but don't get selected to be on the show, are somehow put on a list of "people we won't invite to further auditions" because they've already been passed over once, and there are so few audition slots available...or whether the selection process is somehow more random than that.

I went to an audition following the first online quiz in 2006, but have not been invited again despite several more passes. If someone has been to more than one, well, that sounds like cause for a little more optimism about future chances (esp. since I just scored another 39).
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Re: Other than making the cut for audition, does Online Score matter?

Post by econgator »

John Boy wrote:I'm bumping this to keep it up near the top so I can get an answer. I have wondered whether people who have been to an audition following an online quiz, but don't get selected to be on the show, are somehow put on a list of "people we won't invite to further auditions" because they've already been passed over once, and there are so few audition slots available...or whether the selection process is somehow more random than that.
I've been invited to three myself (although I missed the last one due to a massive pile-up on the interstate) and I'm as boring as dirt, so ....
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