Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?

Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? is a game show franchise based on the television game show of the same name. The television show began broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company network as a special in the United States and Canada on February 27, 2007, and it grew to be popular enough that a half-hour-long syndicated TV series was developed by the owners.

Since then, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? has been replicated in several other countries, some versions under the same title, and some under modified ones. The first season of this TV program ranked 28th in the Nielsen ratings in the U.S., with an average of 12.7 million viewers per episode.^[1] The status of the Fox-TV series following the summer of 2008 was unknown, but the syndicated TV show debuted in late-September 2009. Episodes from this series were also broadcast on MyNetworkTV one evening per week, and on the Country Music Television (CMT) channel it was broadcast on five evenings per week.

GSN began airing the show November 6, 2011 in five-hour blocks starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern/6:00 p.m. They currently air Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? Sunday nights.

In 2013, the show appeared in TV Guide's list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.^[2]

Gameplay

Each game is played by a single contestant who earns money incrementally based on a payout ladder by answering simple trivia questions, with the game themed as a school quiz. The game relies on the premise that an adult would not know the information generally taught in elementary grade school, because it is rarely used in adult life by the type of person chosen to be a contestant.^[1] Therefore, the show is essentially a test to see how much an adult has retained since graduating elementary school. The show also derives its humor by occasionally displaying the contestant's educational attainment, implying that in spite of that, they struggle to answer some questions.

The contestant is presented and chooses from a set of ten subjects and grade level question topics. The question is then revealed. Some questions are multiple choice or true/false; others require the contestant to answer without any options.

Each correct answer moves the contestant up a payout ladder, with a final bonus fifth grade question moving the contestant up one more step to the top prize of $1,000,000. At any point up to the final question, the contestant may quit the game after seeing the question, and keep all money earned up to that point. For the final question, the contestant is only presented the subject and then must decide whether to continue or quit (and keep earned money). The contestant may not walk away after choosing to see the question. The contestant is not guaranteed any winnings until after the fifth question is answered correctly, at which point $25,000 is guaranteed.

Only two contestants have attempted to answer the final question and done so correctly:

• Kathy Cox, the Superintendent of Schools for the State of Georgia, was the first person to have correctly answered the $1,000,000 question (Million Dollar Question): "Who was the longest reigning British Monarch?"; the answer was Queen Victoria.
• George Smoot, the Nobel Prize in Physics laureate, was the second person, answering: "What U.S. state is home to Acadia National Park?"; the answer was Maine.

Many celebrities have competed on this TV show on behalf of various charities. The rock 'n' roll star Gene Simmons of the band KISS dropped out with $500,000 for The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, making him one of the highest-winning celebrities to appear on the show. The subject of the Million Dollar Question was "Science", and the question was "What element is represented by the letter K in the periodic table?" Simmons said that he would have answered krypton, but the correct answer is actually potassium.

The 20-year-old Mayor of Muskogee, Oklahoma, and the youngest mayor in the United States, John Tyler Hammons, appeared on October 24, 2008, winning $25,000 for his charity after missing the question "What's the name of the first American woman to travel to outer space?". Unsure of the correct answer (which is Sally Ride), he "copied" the 5th grader's answer, which was wrong.

Ken Jennings could have become the second person to win the million dollars but he decided not to go for the Social Studies million-dollar question ("U.S. President John Adams was a member of what political party at the time of his election?"). Upon seeing the question after dropping out of school, he answered it correctly (Federalist). However, his winnings of $500,000 were enough to regain the all-time game show winnings record from Brad Rutter, who had defeated him in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions to claim it (but Brad Rutter since reclaimed the title by winning in the Jeopardy! 2014 Battle of the Decades, where Rutter won the tournament, prize money of one million dollars, and the record as the highest money-winner ever on American game shows, which Jennings had held since 2008). Seven other contestants have also dropped out at the million-dollar question.

There were five "classmates" (three since season 5) in the game of approximately fifth-grade age who also answer each question in secret by writing their answers. These answers are sometimes used to create tension when the classmates' answers do not correlate with the contestant's. Additionally, the contestant selects one of the classmates at the beginning of the game to help them during the game. Each classmate can only help for two questions, and then a new classmate must be selected.

The selected classmate provides the contestant with two "cheats," each of which may only be used once. The contestant may choose to "peek" at the classmate's paper, which allows them to see the classmate's answer before they give their own (once the peek is used the contestant must answer the question); the contestant may "copy" the classmate, which automatically locks the classmate's answer in as their own. In addition, the contestant has one "save," which comes into play after the contestant gives their first wrong answer. If the classmate has written the correct answer, he saves the contestant; otherwise, the game ends and the contestant loses the game and wins nothing, unless he correctly answers five questions, at which point he is guaranteed the fifth level of the payout ladder. This "save" no longer apply since season 5. The cheats are not available on the final question;^[3] Additionally, once all the cheats are used, the chosen classmate returns to the group and no new classmate is selected. The classmates continue to write answers for the questions, however, to be used for tension.

The classmates are generally the same throughout a season, and are given a "study guide" of possible question topics before the start of the season.^[4] Since the classmates are not in an adversarial role with the contestants, this only serves to help the contestants if they use the "cheats." It does, however, give a misleading impression of the knowledge level of actual fifth-graders, since the classmates on the show rarely miss the questions, having been given study material in advance. In fact, the show's title is something of a misnomer, since contestants do not actually compete against the classmates, and the classmates' performance on the show is enhanced by study materials, although they still occasionally miss a question. The title was selected to make the show more interesting, specifically making adults look stupid and then exploiting the supposed "stupidity," which is an irony because adults are supposed to teach children.

Upon leaving the game either by quitting ("DROP OUT"), or answering incorrectly ("FLUNK OUT"), the contestant must profess to the camera, "I am not smarter than a fifth grader." However, if the million dollar question is answered correctly (which has only happened twice), the contestant has the opportunity to claim, "I am smarter than a fifth grader."

International versions

The show has spawned many versions around the world:

     Currently airing      No longer airing

Country	Name	Host	Channel	Air Date	Language
Albania	Të gjithë për një	Eno Popi	Top Channel	October 2016	Albanian
Argentina	¿Sabés más que un chico de 5to grado?	Andrea Frigerio and Pablo Granados	América (Channel 2)	July 9, 2007	Spanish
Australia	Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?[5]	Rove McManus	Network Ten	September 26, 2007 – October 30, 2009	English
Austria	Dreizehn	Christian Clerici	ORF1	September 27, 2007	German
Belgium	Slimmer Dan Een Kind Van 10?	Goedele Liekens	VT4	September 6, 2007	Dutch
	Êtes-vous plus malin qu'un enfant de primaire ?	Alain Simons	RTL-TVI	September 6, 2007	French
Brazil	Você é Mais Esperto Que um Aluno da Quinta Série?[6]	Silvio Santos	SBT	September 23, 2007	Portuguese
Bulgaria	Това го знае всяко хлапе! Tova go znae vsiako hlape![7]	Ivan & Andrei (2007-2008), Dimitar & Deo (2008-2009)	bTV	September 15, 2007 – February 20, 2009	Bulgarian
Canada	Are You Smarter than a Canadian 5th Grader?[8]	Colin Mochrie	Global	October 25 – November 22, 2007	English
	La classe de 5e[9]	Charles Lafortune	TVA	February 5, 2009[10]	French
Cambodia	តើអ្នកឆ្លាតជាងក្មេងថ្នាក់ទី៥ឬទេ?	Doung Sokhea	CTN	September 14, 2012	Khmer
Chile[11]	¿Sabes más que un niño de 5º básico?	José Miguel Viñuela	MEGA	April 2, 2008	Spanish
China	五年级救助队 Wŭ nián jí jiù zhù duì[12]	Wang Han	HNETV	May 1, 2007	Standard Chinese
	幸运52 幸运课堂 Xìng yùn 52 xìng yùn kè táng	Li Yong	CCTV-2	June 1, 2007	Standard Chinese
	谁比谁聪明 Shéi bĭ shéi cōng ming[13]	Liu Ming-ming	SZTV	June 1, 2007[14]	Standard Chinese
	你能毕业吗? Nĭ néng bì yè ma?[15]	Duan Lei Jia Ning	TJTV	June 2, 2007	Standard Chinese
	不考不知道 Bù kǎo bù zhī dào[16]	Xu Rui	SXTVS	June 30, 2007[17]	Standard Chinese
	五年级插班生 Wǔ nián jí chā bān shēng	He Hao-peng	Guangdong TV	August 10, 2007[18]	Cantonese
Colombia	¿Sabes más que un niño de primaria?	Jose Gabriel Ortiz	Caracol TV	February 20, 2008	Spanish
Czech Republic	Jsi chytřejší než páťák?	Michal Suchánek & Richard Genzer	TV Nova	2007	Czech
Denmark	Er Du Klogere End En 10-Årig?	Jan Gintberg	TV3	September 22, 2007	Danish
Estonia	Targem kui 5B	Indrek Tarand	TV3	September 13, 2008	Estonian
Finland	Fiksumpi kuin koululainen	Nicke Lignell	MTV3	November 6, 2008	Finnish
France	Êtes-vous plus fort qu’un élève de 10 ans ?	Roland Magdane	M6	September 3 – November 30, 2007	French
Germany	Das weiß doch jedes Kind![19]	Cordula Stratmann	Sat.1	July 6, 2007 – 2008	German
Greece	Είσαι πιο έξυπνος από ένα δεκάχρονο Eísai pio éxypnos apó éna dekáchrono[20]	Sophia Aliberti	ANT1	January 19, 2008	Greek
Hong Kong	係咪小兒科 Hai Mai Siu Yi Fo[21][22][23]	Leo Ku	TVB	October 25, 2008 – November 16, 2009	Cantonese
Hungary	Okosabb vagy mint egy 5-es?	Attila Till	TV2	August 24, 2007	Hungarian
Iceland	Ertu skarpari en skólakrakki?	Gunnar Hansson	Skjár 1	October 21, 2007	Icelandic
India	Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?[24]	Shahrukh Khan	STAR Plus	April 25, 2008 – July 27, 2008	Hindi
Indonesia	Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? Indonesia	Tantowi Yahya Nico Siahaan Indy Barends	Global TV	April 4, 2009 – 2010	Indonesian
Israel	?'האם אתה חכם יותר מתלמיד כיתה ו Ha'im ata hakham metalmid kitah vav?	Eyal Kitzis	Channel 2	July 2007	Hebrew
Italy	Sei più bravo di un ragazzino di 5ª?	Massimiliano Ossini / Riccardo Rossi	Sky Uno / cielo	October 6, 2008 – 2011	Italian
Japan	クイズ あなたは小学5年生より賢いの? Kuizu anata wa shogaku 5-nensei yori kashikoi no?[25]	Takashi Suzuki	NTV	April 24, 2011	Japanese
Latvia	Vai tu esi gudrāks par 5 klasnieku?	Māris Olte	TV3	September 8, 2007	Latvian
Lithuania	Penktokų iššūkis	Andrius Rožickas	TV3	September 2, 2007	Lithuanian
Malaysia	Are You Smarter than a 4th Grader?	Unknown	TV3	October 1, 2007 – September 30, 2008	Malay
Mexico	Todo el mundo cree que sabe	Marco Antonio Regil	Televisa	June 13, 2009	Spanish
Mongolia	Ta 5-p aнгийн хүүхдээс ухаантай юу?		Edutainment Tv		Mongolia
Myanmar	၅တန္းနဲ႔ျပိဳင္ ဘယ္သူႏုိင္	Unknown	Channel 7	2013	Burmese
Netherlands	Ben je slimmer dan een kind?	Erik van der Hoff	Net 5	September 2, 2007	Dutch
New Zealand	Are You Smarter than a 10 Year Old?[26]	Dominic Bowden	TV2	September 9 – November 25, 2007	English
Norway	Er du smartere enn en 5. klassing?	Sturla Berg-Johansen	TV2	March 9, 2012	Norwegian
Peru	Sabes más que un niño de primaria?	Bruno Pinasco	América Televisión	April 27, 2014	Spanish
Philippines	Kakasa Ka Ba Sa Grade 5?	Janno Gibbs	GMA Network	October 27, 2007 – May 9, 2009 March 21, 2009 – March 28, 2009	Filipino (Tagalog)
Poland	Czy jesteś mądrzejszy od 5-klasisty?	Robert Korólczyk / Marzena Rogalska	TV Puls	October 29, 2007 – 2009	Polish
Portugal	Sabe Mais Do Que Um Miúdo De 10 Anos?	Jorge Gabriel	RTP1	September 17, 2007 – June 30, 2008	Portuguese
Romania	Te crezi mai deştept decât un copil de clasa a 5-a?	Virgil Ianţu	Prima TV	2007–2008	Romanian
Russia	Кто умнее 5-классника? Kto umnee 5-klassnika?	Alexandr Pushnoy	CTC	December 9, 2007 – July 20, 2008	Russian
Serbia	Da li ste pametniji od đaka petaka?	Voja Nedeljković	Fox	September 2007	Serbian
Slovakia	Ste chytrejší ako piatak?	Peter Marcin	TV Markiza	2007	Slovak
Slovenia	Ste pametnejši od petošolca?	TBA	POP TV	TBA	Slovene
South Africa	Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?[27]	Soli Philander	M-Net	January 27, 2008	English
Spain	¿Sabes más que un niño de primaria?	Ramón García	Antena 3	June 28 – December 1, 2007 July 14 – August 18, 2008	Spanish
Sri Lanka	Punchi Pahe Man	Vijaya Nandasiri	Sirasa TV	2008	Sinhala
Sweden	Smartare än en femteklassare	Lasse Kronér	SVT1	March 19, 2011	Swedish
Taiwan	百萬小學堂 Bǎi wàn xiǎo xuétáng	Zhang Xiao-yan (張小燕, 1st edition) Bowie Tsang (曾寶儀) and Xiaoxia (小蝦) (2nd edition)	TTV	October 3, 2008 – May 3, 2013	Standard Chinese
Thailand	ถ้าคุณแน่? อย่าแพ้ เด็ก (ประถม)! T̄ĥā khuṇ næ̀? Xỳā phæ̂ dĕk (prat̄hm)![28][29]	Kanit Sarasin	Thai TV 3	October 1, 2007 (1st edition) October 13, 2008 – April 29, 2010 (2nd edition)	Thai
Turkey	5'e Gidenden Akıllı Mısın?	Tolga Gariboğlu	STAR TV	June 2007	Turkish
Ukraine	Чи розумніший ти за п’ятикласника? Chy rozumnishiy ty za p'yatyklasnyka?	Serhiy Prytula	Novyi Kanal	January 6, 2008	Ukrainian
United Kingdom	Are You Smarter than a 10 Year Old?[30]	Noel Edmonds (primetime) Damian Williams (daytime)	Sky One	October 7, 2007 – April 24, 2010	English
United States	Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? (Fox Primetime)	Jeff Foxworthy	Fox	February 27, 2007 – September 18, 2009 May 26 – September 8, 2015	English
	Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? (20th Television daily version)		Syndicated by 20th Television	September 21, 2009 – March 24, 2011
Vietnam	Ai thông minh hơn học sinh lớp 5?	Tạ Minh Tâm (2009-2010)	HTV2	June 21, 2009 – June 20, 2010	Vietnamese
		Thanh Bạch (June 27, 2010 – January 10, 2013) Trấn Thành (January 17, 2013 – January 9, 2014)	VTV3	January 19, 2012 – January 9, 2014 (2nd revived)	Vietnamese
		Bình Minh (February 16, 2014 – present)	VTV6	February 16, 2014 – April 5, 2015	Vietnamese
			HTV7	April 22, 2015 – April 13, 2016 (3rd revived)

Video game

On October 20, 2008, developer THQ released the first video game, titled Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?: Make the Grade, for the PC, PS2, Nintendo DS, Wii, and Xbox Live Arcade. The Xbox Live Arcade version as of mid 2010 was delisted from the Xbox Live Game Marketplace.

A sequel Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? Game Time was released on October 26, 2009 for Nintendo DS, Wii and Xbox 360.

Capcom Mobile released a game based on the game show for iOS devices called "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader 2010" in 2009.

In 2012, Ludia released a free game based on the game show called "Are You Smarter than a 5th grader? & Friends" for iOS devices.

In 2015, GameMill Entertainment released a game based on the 2015 FOX Primetime revival for the Nintendo 3DS.

DVD game

Parker Brothers released a DVD game based on the show. Unlike the show, the player can only pick one classmate for the whole game, and has a choice of 20 games. A 2-player mode is also available.

Video Slot Machine

In 2014, AGS (American Gaming Systems)^[31][32] released a slot machine game based on the show (along with Family Feud and Ripley's Believe It or Not) as part of their "It Pays to Know" series of games. The base of the game is a five-reel scatter pay video slot on a four-by-five, yielding 1,024 possible winning combinations on every spin. packed with bonus event like: "Free Spin Events", "Picking Bonuses" & "Mystery Awards". In the game, players are prompted to choose one of the four "Helpers" fall-backs like eliminating one of the four possible multiple-choice answers or it's stats on how the audience would answer the question. The layer is then given a first-grade question and then tries to answer it correctly. The earlier the correct answer is picked, the higher the award. Answering a question correctly within three times advance the grade level and the game goes on. Completing the "Gold Star Bonus" in which the player picks from a field of five stars to reveal an advance award. In addition to the "Helper" picked at the beginning, the player can earn any of the three "cheats" by landing symbols on the primary game:

• Peek - Just like the TV show, this help lets you look at the answers of a "classmate". You can then choose to "copy" the answer for the game while the other cheat is "Save" for which it automatically corrects your wrong answer if the classmate has the correct one.
• Field Trip - In this bonus events, the picks are made to reveal multipliers for a free-spin bonus and two primary game events called "Mystery Jackpot" and "Mega Block Spins" where it expands the real field for up to 10 rows of symbols with three wild reels for one super spin.
• Additional Note - In the "Peek" bonus event, the classmate will not always have the right answer.

References

External links

• Official site