"Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?", a very popular show, airs on the Fox network and is
hosted
by Jeff Foxworthy. The adult contestants are given ten categories, ranging
from every school subject at various levels within the 1st-5th grade
knowledge
base. The goal is to answer every question right, to have a chance at the
grand
prize final question.
For help in answering the questions, the contestant can choose a 5th
grader
from the small class of five students set up on stage. The student also
answers the question by writing the answer on their light pen screen but
the
answer isn’t shown to the audience or the contestant until after the
contestant
has chosen either to answer or to use one of their helps.
The contestant has three helps during their time at the podium. One is
“peek”
where they have the option of peeking at what the student wrote down and
then deciding whether or not to use the same answer. The second help is
“copy”
which means the contestant must use whatever the student wrote down as
their
answer. The third help is “save” which means that if the student got
the
answer right but the contestant didn’t, then the contestant is saved
and may
continue on with the game. However, each student can only be used for
help twice
and once all helps are exhausted, the contestant cannot use the students
at
all in answering the questions.
Each of the 10 questions has an increasing dollar amount ranging from
$1,000
for the first question to $500,000 for the 10th question. The grand prize
question earns the contestant $1 million if answered correctly. At any
point,
including after the next question is seen, the contestant can choose to
“drop
out” and leave with whatever amount of money they’ve already banked.
If they
choose to “drop out” they must face the camera and declare, “I am
not
smarter than a 5th grader!”
Working in the school system, I have seen the kind of curriculum that is
taught at the elementary school level, and I’d say the questions did fit
the
claim. Jeff Foxworthy is a charismatic host, but this is the first I’ve
seen him
wear glasses, so I’d question if that was solely to make him look more
intelligent or quizzical. As silly as the concept seems, I found it
interesting and
enjoyed playing along to see if I could get the questions right
myself.