Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
"Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" title card
Created by	Mark Burnett
Directed by	Don Weiner
Starring	Jeff Foxworthy (host) Kyle Collier Alana Etheridge Jacob Hays Spencer Martin Marki Ann Meyer (2007–present) Laura Marano (2007)
Theme music composer	David Vanacore with Blessed Kateri Childrens Choir
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	23
Production
Executive producer(s)	Mark Burnett Roy Bank Barry Poznick John Stevens
Running time	60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	FOX
Original run	February 27, 2007 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (or 5th Grader) is an American quiz game show on FOX. It is produced by Mark Burnett,^[1] and is hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. The show premiered as a three-day special which began on February 27, 2007 with the first two shows each a half-hour in length. Regular one-hour episodes began airing Thursdays from March 1 through May 10^[2], and the first season continued with new episodes beginning May 31. Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? was picked up for the 2007–2008 season,^[3] which began on September 6, 2007, and airs in the same timeslot.^[4] The show also airs internationally, and has been picked up in a number of other countries for local versions. Image File history File links Smarter_than_a_Fifth_Grader_Intro_512x384. ... Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960), a British-born, naturalized citizen of the United States, is a US TV producer known for pioneering reality television as a genre. ... Comedian Jeff Foxworthy accepts a new jacket from 3rd Infantry Division Commander Army Maj. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ... Jacob Hays (born in San Diego, California) is one of the co-anchors on Disneys Really Short Report and a student on Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?. Jacob Hays at the Internet Movie Database Category: ... Marki Ann Meyer (born in 1996) is an American child actor from Camarillo, California. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... David Vanacore is an award winning[] American television music composer. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960), a British-born, naturalized citizen of the United States, is a US TV producer known for pioneering reality television as a genre. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ... is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... “Quiz show” redirects here. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ... Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960), a British-born, naturalized citizen of the United States, is a US TV producer known for pioneering reality television as a genre. ... Comedian Jeff Foxworthy accepts a new jacket from 3rd Infantry Division Commander Army Maj. ... is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

5th Grader games are played by a single contestant, who attempts to answer ten questions (plus a final bonus question). Content is taken from elementary school textbooks, two from each grade level from first to fifth. Each correct answer increases the amount of money the player banks; a maximum cash prize of US$1,000,000 can be won. Along the way, the player can be assisted by a "classmate", one of five cast members (who are fifth grade students), in answering the questions. Notably, upon getting an answer incorrect or deciding to end the game, the contestant must profess to the camera that they are, in fact, not smarter than a 5th grader. ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ...

Production

Development

The show was originally pitched as "Do You Remember Grade School?"^[5] by Burnett and Zoo Productions to network executives in the form of a six-question version of the quiz; the only network president who was able to finish the quiz as a winner was FOX's Peter Liguori.^[6] On 2007-01-31, FOX announced that they had picked up the show for an initial six-episode run^[7], and on 2007-02-09, Foxworthy was announced as the host of the new gameshow.^[8] Less than eight weeks after being pitched, the first episode aired.^[5] A pitch is a concise verbal (and sometimes visual) presentation of an idea for a film, generally made by a screenwriter or director to a producer or studio executive in the hope of attracting development finance to pay for a screenplay to be written. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Set design

The show is filmed in front of a studio audience, who are arranged in two levels around a rectangular area. One portion of this audience seating is raised above two walls of the main set, with the other situated behind the area where contestants and the host stand.

The main area of the set is originally walled off. As the title sequence plays, two of the walls, designed to appear as hallways, slide away to reveal the main set, modeled after a traditional elementary school classroom, and the children emerge, running through a small hallway containing cubbyholes into which they throw their knapsacks. They are then each seated at their respective desks, each marked with a nameplate, atop a raised platform. Beside this platform are two lecterns, one for the contestant (who also emerges from the hallway after being introduced), and the other for his or her "classmate." The lecterns are designed to resemble traditional classroom desks, but have translucent lighted panels and LCD displays mounted on front. This example of a title sequence, from long-running serial drama Another World, was seen from 1966 to 1981, making it one of the longest-running continuous title sequences on television. ... LCD redirects here. ...

The classroom area of set also contains two large rear projection screens, which are used to display the list of questions, the current question and the contestant's progress in the game; these screens generally use green backgrounds and white text, reminiscent of a chalkboard, but are also used to display still photographs or video clips of the contestant as a grade-schooler. Another rear projection screen, situated in the audience area, is positioned to appear just over the contestant's shoulder to show the contestant and current question. Rear projection was devised by Farciot Edouart in 1933 - at the time, he was working for Paramount Studios. ... A chalkboard, with multiple colors of chalk Blackboard Chalk A quadruple chalkboard at the Helsinki University of Technology A chalkboard or blackboard is a reusable writing surface on which text or drawings are made with chalk or other erasable markers. ...

The set also contains other miscellaneous props, similar to items that would be found in a classroom; for instance, bookshelves full of books, different plants, a globe, and a teacher's desk are visible. Atop the desk is a fishbowl containing two goldfish, named Darnell and Mike^[9], a presumed reference to Mike Darnell, executive vice president of alternative programming at FOX. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Trinomial name Carassius auratus auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) For the baked snack crackers, please see Goldfish (snack). ... Mike Darnell is the executive vice president of alternative programming for the Fox Broadcasting Company. ... Reality television is a genre of television programming which presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and features ordinary people instead of professional actors. ...

Casting

Each season, a new group of children are cast to appear as the "classmates" on the show.^[10] Any child cast must be "smart, funny, and outgoing", and must actually be in the 5th grade during the television season.^[10] The class in the first season was made up of Kyle Collier, age 10; Alana Etheridge, 10; Jacob Hays, 11; Spencer Martin, 10; Laura Marano, 11; and Marki Ann Meyer, 11, who replaced Marano as of the April 26, 2007 episode.^[11] In the performing arts, casting is a vital pre-production process for selecting a cast (a meaning of the word recorded since 1631) of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ... Jacob Hays (born in San Diego, California) is one of the co-anchors on Disneys Really Short Report and a student on Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?. Jacob Hays at the Internet Movie Database Category: ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Marki Ann Meyer (born in 1996) is an American child actor from Camarillo, California. ... is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Contestants who make it through the auditioning process are required to sign a one-year contract stating that they will not tell anybody how much money they make, and that they will not release any information about the actual auditioning process, such as the number of screenings, the questions asked by the auditioners, and the actual criteria for being accepted onto the show.

Auditions for the second season took place during the first quarter of 2007, in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Nathan Lazarus, of Colorado, was officially accepted as one of the five children to appear in the second season.^[12] This article is about the state capital of Georgia. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... “NY” redirects here. ... Vegas redirects here. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ...

Gameplay

In each game, the contestant (an adult) is asked a series of eleven questions, taken from textbooks for first through fifth grade students. Before starting play, the contestant is given ten subjects (such as U.S. History, Math or Social Studies), each of which are associated with a grade level; there are two questions per grade, from first to fifth. Contestants can answer the questions in any order, and each correct answer raises their cumulative amount of winnings to the next level (see table at right); after a contestant answers the fifth question correctly, they are guaranteed to leave with at least $25,000. If a contestant correctly answers the first ten questions, they are given the opportunity to answer a fifth-grade bonus question worth $1,000,000. “American history” redirects here. ... Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ... Social studies is a term used to describe the broad study of the various fields which involve past and current human behavior and interactions. ...

Five fifth graders (some of whom are also professional child actors^[13]) appear on each show and play along on stage – each episode in a season has the same cast of children. Prior to the show, the children are provided with workbooks which contain a variety of material, some of which could be used in the questions asked in the game.^[14][15] The contestant chooses one to be their "classmate", who stands at the adjacent podium, and is often consulted by the contestant as to their favorite subjects before a topic is chosen; the other four sit at desks off to the side. Each child may only be the contestant's classmate for two questions (done consecutively), after which the contestant picks another child from those who have not yet played in that game. The term child actor is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion the latter is also called a former child actor. ...

Contestants have three forms of assistance (two cheats and a save) each available for use once per game (up to, but not including, the million dollar question^[16]):

• Peek: The contestant can see what their classmate wrote down as the answer and choose whether to go along with it or not. If the contestant chooses to use this cheat, they must answer the question and may not drop out.
• Copy: The contestant is locked into whatever answer their classmate wrote down without being able to see it first.
• Save: If the contestant gets an answer incorrect but their classmate is correct, they are credited with a correct answer. However, if the classmate is also wrong, the contestant loses. This is used automatically on the contestant's first incorrect response.

Once all three forms of assistance are used, the contestant can no longer choose a classmate.

If the contestant gets an answer wrong (and is not saved), they flunk out, and lose all of their winnings (or drop to $25,000, if they had surpassed the fifth question). As well, the contestant may choose to drop out, at any point during the game prior to the million dollar question (even after viewing the question), which entitles them to leave the game with any winnings they have accumulated.

The rules change slightly for the million dollar question. The contestant only gets to see the subject of the question before deciding if they will continue or drop out. However, if the contestant chooses to see the question, they are no longer eligible to drop out and must answer the question, with no assistance from the classmates. A wrong answer on the question will cause the contestant to drop back down to $25,000.^[16]

If, at any point during the game, the contestant chooses to drop out, or is flunked out, they must face the camera and state, "I am not smarter than a fifth grader."

Records and statistics

• Most money won: $500,000 (five occasions)
• Least money won: $0 (six occasions)
• Total winnings: $3,220,000 (25 contestants)
• Average won per contestant: $128,800
• Most correct answers in a game (no cheats): 9
• Fewest correct answers in a game (no cheats): 0 (six occasions)
• Fewest correct answers in an episode (no cheats): 1 of 11 over three games
• Shortest advancement in the game: 1st question (two occasions)
• Number of contestants to drop out: 17
• Number of contestants to lose on a wrong answer: 7
• Number of contestants to reach to the million dollar question: 5
• Number of contestants to answer the million dollar question: 1
• Number of contestants who would have won $1,000,000 had they chosen to answer the question^[17]: 2

Controversial questions

The September 6, 2007 episode featured the $175,000 question "How many watts are used during one kilowatt-hour?"^[18] The watt is a unit of power, whereas the kilowatt-hour is a unit of energy (i.e., power x time). Neither unit is a unit of time as implied by the wording of the question ("during"). For other uses, see Watt (disambiguation). ... The kilowatt-hour (symbol: kW·h) is a unit for measuring energy. ... Look up Power in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Power in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the measurement concept. ...

Notes

TV Squad is a television weblog founded on March 10, 2005 and resides within the most visited sites of the Weblogs, Inc. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A press release (sometimes known as a news release or press statement) is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value. ... The Futon Critic is a website for television program enthusiasts run by Brian Ford Sullivan (alias The Futon Critic). The Futon Critic site provides news, reviews and plot details on television programs, focuing primarily on American programs that air during primetime. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A press release (sometimes known as a news release or press statement) is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value. ... The Futon Critic is a website for television program enthusiasts run by Brian Ford Sullivan (alias The Futon Critic). The Futon Critic site provides news, reviews and plot details on television programs, focuing primarily on American programs that air during primetime. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 213th day of the year (214th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A press release (sometimes known as a news release or press statement) is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Futon Critic is a website for television program enthusiasts run by Brian Ford Sullivan (alias The Futon Critic). The Futon Critic site provides news, reviews and plot details on television programs, focuing primarily on American programs that air during primetime. ... The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... March 16 is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 103rd day of the year (104th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 103rd day of the year (104th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into articles entitled Adobe Flash Player and Talk:Adobe Flash #Merger proposal, accessible from a disambiguation page. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 114th day of the year (115th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ...

See also

• WinTuition

WinTuition was a game show on GSN, where three contestants competed for a chance to win a $50,000 college tuition. ...

External links

• FOX Broadcasting Company: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
• FOX Radio's Interview with the 5th graders from A Few Moments With... Podcast

Classmates

• Kyle Collier: Biography · IMDb
• Alana Etheridge: Biography · IMDb
• Jacob Hays: Biography · IMDb
• Laura Marano: Biography · IMDb
• Spencer Martin: Biography · IMDb
• Marki Ann Meyer: Biography · IMDb