Sandi's Inexplicable Verbal PSTAT Score

     According to the first movie, she scored 450 on the verbal section of the
test.  Assuming that the "PSTAT" is a fictional variation on the American
"SAT", 450 is an extremely pedestrian score, perhaps even sub-mediocre.  And
this makes no sense at all, because Sandi has excellent English skills.
     First and foremost, her vocabulary is impressive.  Here are a few words
she incorporated into her conversations during seasons 4 and 5:  Artifice,
protocol, disfigurement, unwavering, foray, stringent, exemplary, abysmal,
apprised, unkempt, unsolicited, forte, beautification, pundits, deportment,
underwriting, rectifying, inadvertently, burgeoning, and haggle.
     These are not words used by people who don't have a strong grasp of the
language.  Hell, I scored in the 97th percentile on the test and never heard of
"haggle" until Sandi introduced it to me in episode #505.
     I realize that vocabulary is not the only section on the examination, nor
the sole element one must exhibit proficiency in to demonstrate a mastery of
English.  But Sandi's grammatical and syntactical choices are invariably sound,
and her enunciation is marvelous.  We may have no samples of her writing, but
her elocutive skills are a joy to behold.  Indeed, I'm willing to wager that
Professor Higgins would love Sandra Griffin. (although I'll concede that a
percentage of that affection would be based upon the Fashion Club president's
unmatched good looks)
     Thus the question must be asked - how did Sandi manage to screw up this
all-important test?

[email] (Al52228) wrote in news:[email]:

You're not the only one who's noticed how well-spoken Sandi is. I'm willing to bet Sandi would make a good writer, if only she could be convinced that writing isn't "geeky." I could see her as fashion critic for a women's magazine, though of course her dream job would be at "Waif."

My suspicion is, Sandi thinks taking testing seriously is geeky, so she spent the first 30 minutes of the test sanding her nails or something, then noticed she was letting the time get away from her, and had to rush through it. Then again, maybe she copied from Tiffany's paper.

Steve Cross

Yeah, I'd have to diagree with MMan. It's not that she uses big words... even on the SAT, there's significantly more obscure words then those Al52228 listed... it was Sandy's choice of words and turns of phrase were exemplary. My guess as to why she scored poorly on the PSTAT was because it (or something very much like it) was necessitated by the 'Quinn is smarter then she seems' plot current begun in season 4 in order to give quinn more character development... I don't believe (could be wrong) that this plot was a factor at all before IIFY, so in order to get it going, the writers accepted minor consistancies, like this one.

This bugged me right away, first time I say IIFY, for the same reasons... often writers get away with implicit inconsistancies as long as they watch the explicit ones. Just my perspective.

Steve Cross wrote in message news:...

[email] (andrew b) wrote in message news:...

The problems remains: where does Sandi learn these words? Is she a secret brainy geek, stealing off to the library wearing a wig and horned-rim glasses? As far as we know, her reading is confined to teen fashion magazines; her taste in television and movies is not high-brow; her companions are not kids like Daria, Ted or Jodie, who might enlarge her vocabulary. We do know she has a mother who used to be a TV newscaster, and having been in broadcasting briefly myself at one time I *know* these people can pronounce and plausibly use words they don't fully understand.

According to the first movie, she scored 450 on the verbal section of the test. Assuming that the "PSTAT" is a fictional variation on the American "SAT", 450 is an extremely pedestrian score, perhaps even sub-mediocre. And this makes no sense at all, because Sandi has excellent English skills. First and foremost, her vocabulary is impressive. Here are a few words she incorporated into her conversations during seasons 4 and 5: Artifice, protocol, disfigurement, unwavering, foray, stringent, exemplary, abysmal, apprised, unkempt, unsolicited, forte, beautification, pundits, deportment, underwriting, rectifying, inadvertently, burgeoning, and haggle. These are not words used by people who don't have a strong grasp of the language. Hell, I scored in the 97th percentile on the test and never heard of "haggle" until Sandi introduced it to me in episode #505. I realize that vocabulary is not the only section on the examination, nor the sole element one must exhibit proficiency in to demonstrate a mastery of English. But Sandi's grammatical and syntactical choices are invariably sound, and her enunciation is marvelous. We may have no samples of her writing, but her elocutive skills are a joy to behold. Indeed, I'm willing to wager that Professor Higgins would love Sandra Griffin. (although I'll concede that a percentage of that affection would be based upon the Fashion Club president's unmatched good looks) Thus the question must be asked - how did Sandi manage to screw up this all-important test?

Perhaps Occam's Razor can explain why Sandi did not perform well on the PSTAT: she doesn't test well. As for writers using using incongruities and anacronisms to move a plot along, it's done all the time. For all those "Simpsons" fans out there, how can Ned Flanders be the son of 'freaky' beatniks AND be sixty years old? (Check out "Hurricane Neddy" and "Viva Ned Flanders")

-- Perfection is subjective.

Haha, sounds reasonable to me.. although as I understand it, 60 years old in 2001 wouldn't precluded beatnik parenthood for Flanders.. Although the term 'Beatnik' didn't arrive on the scene until the late fifties (coined by the media, not members of the 'beat' generation), beat writers and 'beat culture' as I understand it was definetly active in the early forties. So it seems like it could be a possiblity to me. :)

Anyway, Daria was (or at least became) a much more plot driven show then the simpsons, so it strikes me as requiring more explanation.

He's 60 with a body like that ?

"Shawn St.Clair" wrote:

"M Man" wrote in message news:[email]...

news:...

That'd be a great idea for a fanfic. Do you think she should pose as a blonde?

D. T. Dey

Naw, jet-black hair to match her horn-rims.

I hope *you're* planning to write this fanfic. I'm not.

M Man

"MMan37x" wrote in message news:[email]...

Well, blonde would be a distinction from the rest of the FC since half of it is brunettes. OTOH, Sandi posing as a blonde may still draw unwanted attention to herself, even if she does try to look geeky.

I might make it a small segment of another fic, if I can decide which one I want to add it too.

D. T. Dey

Yeah, black's the way to go if you're *trying* to look geeky.

M Man

[email] (MMan37x) wrote:

Nah, 'mouse brown' is the geek color. Specifically, a medium to dark shade of ashe brown. It's terribly drab looking. It's not a rich color like chestnut or sable, it's not golden at all, even if you can get the sun to shine on it just right, and it's not anywhere near the vibrancy of auburn. It's just... mouse-y.

I hate it and want the vibrant red hair of my childhood back. :P

Teph

"Tephra Lynn Davis" wrote in message news:3c93fbed$0$1416$[email]...

What about dirty blonde? It's dull and dingy, but still a contradiction of the common fashion club hair colors. Only Quinn's hair is truly bright.

D. T. Dey

I know a Goth girl who has black hair with blue streaks.

And she works in a library.

No glasses, though, horn-rims or otherwise.

Imagine Sandi with blue-streaked hair.

M Man

Hw�t! We have heard of the glory of [email] (MMan37x) that wrote news:[email], on the day of 17 Mar 2002:

Ya know, I think you're on to something. Maybe Daria's seen Sandi on her secret trips to the library. Remember that in "Dye! Dye! My Darling" she told Jane that the Fashion Club could do a much better job streaking Jane's hair? Since the Fashion Club has never appeared *in public* with streaked hair, maybe Daria had inside knowledge. ^_^

Mark Steese a/k/a Corvus Marinus counting the days till Spring Break

I think Sandi's too prudish to go streaking in public :-)

(Although I recently did a fanfic called "Barely Popular" in which ... uh, well, you had to be there.)

Actually, since we're talking about Sandi-centric fanfics, we haven't had one from our resident Sandi-nista lately.

Maybe you could tell us where Sandi gets those big words.

M Man

--------

"A chain is only as strong as its weakest round thingy" - Stacy Rowe

Hw�t! We have heard of the glory of [email] (MMan37x) that wrote news:[email], on the day of 17 Mar 2002:

Quinn's definitely prudish - she was the only one who wouldn't rub a boy's naked chest in "This Year's Model" - but Sandi's prudishness has never been established.

I'll happily volunteer to beta-read that. ^_^

Well, from me, of course. Where did you think?

Mark Steese a/k/a Corvus Marinus

Note the :-) above.

True enough, we really don't know that about Sandi, although we do know the Fashion Club has never gone for a "slutty" or "bare-all" look or anything similar - "cute" seems to be their watchword.

Too late. It's already on Outpost Daria. Read and enjoy.

Hmmm. Yet in IIFY Sandi appeared to be very untutorable...

M Man

Hw�t! We have heard of the glory of [email] (MMan37x) that wrote news:[email], on the day of 18 Mar 2002:

Of course. I wilfully disregarded it to do some fangeeking.

Still, you'd hardly call them modest (even Quinn - which ep has the scene in which Helen says "The laundry shrunk your shirt!" and Quinn says "No they didn't"?) And there was the memorable bikini scene in "Fire!" Not that I watch that scene over and over in freeze-frame mode, or anything. ^_^

Thanks!

Who said anything about tutoring?

-Mark Steese a/k/a Corvus Marinus (and who would you rather learn big words from--me, or Carson "TRL" Daly? ^_^)

In article , [email] says...

Well I have always wondered about the "prudishness" of Quinn.

I remember the whole "movie-burger-backseat" rant in "Esteemsters", and the "wear smudge-proof lipstick" note to self during her and Sandi's scheming to steal her mothers car and meet some guys at Tower Point in "Gifted".

Or maybe it's just Quinn giving off those mixed messages that she is so notorious for.

Lord knows most teen pop stars are making a mint off that type of smokescreen...

Oh yeah. It's good!

Oh what was it then? Gardening?

Firah

Probably. Hard to believe a girl who won't slow-dance ("Daria Dance Party") is going to do much in the back seat.

(Or even eat a burger, given her eating habits.)

Double thanks!

If Sandi really learned vocabulary from Corvus, she'd be starting all her sentences with "Hw�t!" :-)

Actually, most people who know that word got it from "Beowulf", which doesn't strike me as Griffinesque reading material. That's more Daria's sort of thing, though I don't recall her ever being seen reading it on the series. She was seen reading it in at least one fanfic, though: "Jane on the Side" by The Alchemist.

M Man

In article , [email] says...

Now that I think about it, I think Quinn might have changed a lot during the Daria run --- before IIFY. I still think that her eating habits, and her moral compass, were changed drastically by being in the Fashion Club.

Of course we can only speculate, since the show was called "Daria" not "Quinn" but it would be interesting to see all five seasons from Quinn's perspective instead of Daria's.

Firah

Hmmm. Interesting thought, but re the eating habits: it didn't look like Quinn's weight changed during the series.

About her prudishness: hard to believe she got that from the FC given the scene in "This Year's Model". The other girls were all willing enough with the bare-chested boys. Only Quinn balked.

Maybe Quinn *talked* like a big make-out queen back in Highland but was really, well, Quinn as we know her.

Eep! A 65-episode fanfic? Double eep!

Of course, I suppose it could be done in one long one, � la "Jane on the Side".

Nevertheless: Eep!

M Man

In article , [email] says...

She's a teenager and, using Daria as an example, Quinn looks like she can eat just about anything and not have it affect her figure.

I think the Fashion Club and Waif Magazine spooked Quinn into avoiding any food above a leaf of lettuce, a diet soda, and a carrot stick.

Just look at poor Tiffany! Man has she got a phobia about getting fat! Sandi didn't help much by gaining weight last season either.

Speaking of obesity, or the lack of it, didja ever notice that Jake and Helen don't seem to have the problem with "middle-age spread" as some 40ish parents do. (And they're slowly creeping on 50?!)

Come to think of it, I noticed that neither Mother Morgendorffer or the Sisters Barksdale had any weight problems whatsoever.

Must be those Barksdale-Morgendorffer genes...

<Quinn>

Well you know what they say, why buy the milk if the cow smells...or something.

</Quinn>

Well I ain't gonna write it!

;^D

Firah

Could be. Jane seems to live entirely on junk food and she's skinny. Of course, with her there's the running ...

If Quinn can be thin with normal food, she'd get emaciated if she really followed that diet. I think she cheats when the others are not around. Probably all of them do, expect maybe Tiffany.

I think there have been several fanfics positing that Tiffany' mother is fat.

But then, there *IS* Mrs Johansen ...

And Mrs Bennett, to a lesser degree ...

<Tiffany> Smell like a cow? Quinn, Ewwwww!!!! </Tiffany>

Me neither, though I did rewrite *one* episode from Quinn's view. Do we have 64 more volunteers? :-)

M Man

---------

"A chain is only as strong as its weakest round thingie" - Stacy Rowe

On 3/24/02 9:03 PM, Firah at [email] wrote:

[snip]

Perhaps (albeit subconsciously) the creators of the show know that people that have more financially comfortable lifestyles tend not to gain weight as readily as working class people. Although it is tough to not gain weight on a steady diet of lasanga and the occasional bucket of Colonel's chicken.

"Shawn St.Clair" wrote in news:B8C62AC8.5383%[email]:

Many factors, including age, eating habits, degree of physical activity, and genetics, combine to determine one's weight.

As to age, middle-aged people tend to undergo a metabolic slowdown which results in weight gain if eating habits and physical acitivity don't change.

On genetics: there is a body type called ectomorphic, characterized by a tall thin physique. Supermodels are female ectomorphs. The stereotypical male ectomorph is a basketball player. The FC girls appear to be strongly ectomorphic.

Given a combination of youth, an ectomorphic body type, and a diet of diet soda and carrot sticks, Quinn and her girlfriends will probably remain thin until their forties, despite their aversion to getting "all perspiry."

Take my case. I lived on junk food and got little excercise until I was in my 40's, but I was chronically underweight for my entire life up until I was 45. I started college weighing 125 pounds, though I was already 6 feet tall. In my early 40's I only weighed 140. At 45, I rapidly ballooned to 185, where I managed to stabilize, thanks to switching to a low-fat diet. I'm as physically inactive as ever, I must admit.

<Sandi> Oh, it's all about you, isn't it, Steve? </Sandi>

<Me>
Uh, yeah.
</Me>

<Tiffany> 185 pounds? Eeeew! </Tiffany>

Steve Cross

In article , [email] says...

A good point.

I suppose Helen's power walking helps keep her "girlish figure" but that does not explain Jake. I mean, we don't see Jake doing much of anything except reading the paper or drinking a martini.

Maybe being so high strung and ranting about....everything increase his metabolism so he doesn't need to exercise.

:-D

Firah

---Stand firm for what you believe, until and unless, logic and experience prove you wrong. - Daria Is It College Yet?

Dirty blonde (dark ashe blonde) has a habit of being streaky, it's got some life to it just because the upper layers are generally lighter than the under side that rarely sees the sun. Mouse brown is dull and lifeless all over, it actually seems to suck the life out of the person cursed with it.

But then I'm probably biased, being cursed and all.... :)

Teph

<John McEnroe> You canNOT be SERIOUS! </John McEnroe>

"Haggle" is the most common word on your list, I would have thought.

I think Sandi uses big words she only half-understands. Probably she gets most of them from her mother.

M Man

Wild-eyed conspiracy theorists insist that on 12 Mar 2002 07:49:05 GMT,

Well, I'm running on memories from the 1970s here, but IIRC there was a test called "PSAT" which was a Preliminary SAT I took a year or two before the SAT. I also vaguely recall a section on how to predict your SAT score from you PSAT score becuase they didn't use the same scale.

Maybe this is was was being fictionalized instead.

It's still around. It does use a slightly different scale, with scores running from 20 to 80 on individual sections, rather than 200 to 800. It has three sections: verbal, math, and writing skills, so the highest possible score is an 240. If you ignore the writing skills part, which is not part of the SAT test, the highest possible score is a 160. It isn't possible to get a 450 on the PSAT, but it would be possible to get a 45. Not an overwhelmingly fantastic score, as the median for an individual section is around 50, I believe.

jessica

I think this is the test from which they determine national merit scholars, as well.

the other jessica