Talk:Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?

Reformat of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
As there are now a lot of local versions of the show, I have reorganized the page so that the American version is now at Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (US game show), and this page is for the common elements and list of all versions, as per the Deal or No Deal pages.

As such, the old "International versions" section has been removed from this page, and is available below. The information is better suited to individual pages per local version, but there is not enough details to warrant creating those pages for most versions at the moment. &mdash;Daniel Vandersluis(talk) 17:25, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

International versions (from old page)
The format has also been sold across the world for local versions in other countries.

A British version titled Are You Smarter than a 10-Year-Old? is currently being produced by Plymouth based Twofour. Filming is taking place from July to September at Elstree Studios, and the programme is scheduled to air on Sky One starting in the autumn of 2007. The show will initially consist of 20 primetime episodes, to be hosted by Noel Edmonds, with a top prize of £250,000. There will also be 50 daytime episodes hosted by "Dick & Dom" (real names Richard McCourt & Dominic Wood), which will feature a lower top prize of £50,000. It is expected to air in HDTV format. .

The Australian version on Channel Ten is hosted by Rove McManus. The five fifth graders participating are Callum, Darcy, Max, Moya, & Sam, all from Victoria except Callum from New South Wales. The format is nearly identical to the US series, except that contestants answer ten questions to win A$250,000 (with a guaranteed payout of A$25,000 if the contestant answers the first five questions correctly); the final question is worth the grand prize of A$500,000. The show premieres on September 26, 2007 at 8:45PM, and then continues the following week in its regular timeslot of Wednesdays at 7:30PM. Ten hourlong episodes will be made for the first series, with additional episodes if the show performs well.

An Argentinian version is currently on air. The show was pitched for the 2007 season, in July 9, under the name of "¿Sabés más que un chico de 5to grado?", with Andrea Frigerio as host. It's a very successful show that has come to stay for a long time. The hourlong show originally aired weekday evenings, and now airs Sundays at 20:00. It can be watched in the whole country on América 2.

A Bulgarian version of the show will start in September on bTV. It will be aired every weekday at 18:00 h, probably competing with Nova Television's Sdelka ili ne (Deal or No Deal). The Bulgarian name is "Това го знае всяко хлапе!" (Tova go znae vsyako hlape!, "Every Kid Knows That!").

A German version that is called ''Das weiß doch jedes Kind! (Every Kid Knows That!)'' and hosted by comedian Cordula Stratmann launched on July 6, 2007 on Sat.1. It airs weekly, and has contestants answer ten questions to win €100,000 (with a guaranteed payout of €10,000 if the contestant answers the first five questions correctly); the final question is worth the grand prize of €200,000.

A local version of the show entitled Are You Smarter than a Canadian Fifth Grader? will air on Global in Canada beginning in the fall of 2007, hosted by Colin Mochrie. Contestants will play for a grand prize of C$1,000,000. The show will begin with a five episode run. The US show originally aired on Global, and will continue to air on CH in Canada beginning in September 2007.

A French version called ''Êtes vous plus fort qu’un élève de 10 ans? (Are you stronger than a 10 year old pupil?)'' hosted by comedian Roland Magdane is set to air on M6. The show, which premiered on September 3, 2007, airs Monday through Friday at 20:10 (which repeat the following morning at 11:20). Contestants answer ten questions to win €40,000, and then can answer one final question to win the grand prize of €100,000.

A version in New Zealand called Are You Smarter than a 10 Year Old? is currently being developed. The show is set to start airing on TV2 on September 9, 2007. The rules are virtually identical to the US version except for the fact that the top prize is NZ$100,000.

Additionally, a Brazilian version of the show is under development for SBT.

A Philippine version is also in the works, to be shown on GMA Network on October, 2007. It is to be titled Kakasa Ka Ba sa Grade 5? (Will You Go Through Grade 5?) and will be hosted by actor/singer/comedian Janno Gibbs.

The Hungarian version of the game is currently running on TV2, called Okosabb vagy mint egy 5-es?". The official title has a grammar mistake because it should be Okosabb vagy, mint egy 5.-es?"

A Thai version, the first in Asia, called ''ถ้าคุณแน่? อย่าแพ้ ป.4!'' (Tha Khun Nae Yaa Pare Por 4, "If You Dare, Don't Lose a 4 grader!") hosted by Kanit Sarasin is set to air in October 2007 on Thai TV 3. Contestants who answer eleven questions will win THB 500,000.

The Romanian version of the game is currently running on Prima TV, called "Te Crezi Mai De5tept" and is hosted by Virgil Iantu.

A Dutch version started airing on Net 5 on September 2, 2007. The show is called "Ben je slimmer dan een kind?" ("Are you smarter than a child?"). Erik van der Hoff is the host.

The Indian version is going to be aired on April 18. The show is called "Kya aap panchvi pass se tez hai?" ("Are you faster than a 5th grader in his knowledge"). Shah Rukh Khan is the host.The show is goin to be aired in Star plus. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.93.85.109 (talk) 16:37, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Accuracy of Answers
The following line states that the official answer was 1000 watts in one kilowatt is nonsense. However, Wikipedia's definition of a kilowatt clearly states it is equal to 1000 watts. Looks like either the wiki definition needs to be changed, or the line in this article :-)

"However, in late September 2007 there was a slip-up. Question: How many watts are there in a kilowatt-hour? The official answer was "one thousand", but this is nonsense. The question makes no sense. It is like asking "How many feet in a quart?""

- &#91;&#91;User:Mustangwill&#124;Mustangwill]] 16:34, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

No the statement was correct, the question wasn't "how many watts are there in a kilowatt", but "how many watts are there in a kilowatt-HOUR". This doesn't make sense, it is like asking "how many meters are there in a 10 kilometers per hour" --WikiWizard 09:14, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Hi. I'm sorry I just added this old segment without any discussion. But I think it should be in there and can someone pls rewrite in a way that is more neat and perhaps fish for some references? Thanks... 59.92.117.105 (talk) 16:25, 25 October 2008 (UTC)

Chinese Version
Has anyone else seen the Chinese version? I happened to come across it when I was in China a few weeks ago - it took me about 15 seconds to figure out what I was watching from the look of the contestant podium, the video chalkboard, and the class. It finished its first season run - the season finale had some kind of ceremony at the end where the classmates were given certificates and such.

The title has the English words "Are You Smarter" in it - roughly translated from the Chinese it's something like "Are You Smarter Than a Elementary Student" or something to that effect. The top prize is 50,000 RMB, and I think they have a stricter time limit on answering questions. The host is this young lady that seems to dress in outfits befitting a anime character. It airs on SZTV (Shenzhen Television). Could someone clarify this? - The Lake Effect 06:22, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Name Change?
With many versions around the world and different names in the English language such as 10 year old (UK, NZ, France), Canadian fifth grader, Child (Germany) etc, maybe this page should be named 'Are you smarter than? (TV Series)' or something similar. Anyone agree? 172.203.215.67 23:16, 7 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I disagree. The format started as Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, hence the name. See the main Deal or No Deal article for a parallel. &mdash;Daniel Vandersluis(talk) 23:46, 7 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia naming convention is to use the most commonly available title so it will be easy to find by the average reader. Noone would look up "Are you smarter than? (tv series)" to find this page TheHYPO 00:04, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

Another example of Wikipedia being Americanised. The most commonly available title is actually 10 year old if you examine the different names in foreign language. Besides, a redirect can sort things out. Then the US can have it's common title without the (US Game Show). Also, it doesn't have to be (TV Series) on the end, just Are You Smarter Than, it's much better and more logical. 172.203.215.67 00:26, 9 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Maybe I should give a little information on the German title. The phrase "Das weiß doch jedes Kind!" (roughly: Every child knows that!) is some sort of German idiom. It's a common response by small children to a question they regard as stupid, such as "Do you know where Santa Clause comes from?". Therefore it's fitting well in my opinion. --Kazu89 ノート 23:30, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

'I am smarter not smarter than a fifth grader'
Do the contestants really say this even if they win, as the article seems to say? I've never watched the show but it seems to make no sense, so I wondered if it was a mistakes.80.7.59.211 (talk) 22:26, 18 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Someone wrote the section really poorly (pretty sure it wasn't me). They wrote that "if you win or lose" you have to say "I am or am not" smarter... which is stupid. I've changed it to read that if you lose "I am not smarter...". Jeff F never makes the contestant promise to say they ARE smarter - either way, it's not that important and can be inferred form the negative version TheHYPO (talk) 05:19, 19 November 2007 (UTC)


 * The current text in the article is correct: "Upon leaving the game either by quitting, or answering incorrectly..." The only situation in which the contestant would NOT need to say they're not smarter than a fifth grader is if they win the million dollars, which hasn't happened yet. Whether or not the original wording of "whether you win or lose" is correct depends on how you define victory in this game. Puck71 (talk) 03:02, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

Which reminds me, there was that guy who reached to the million-dollar question, but answered incorrectly! Muahaha! Oh, and Bill Gates should also appear on Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?! Slapmeorelse (talk) 13:38, 13 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Nobody has won the million dollars?!?!?!? Wow. Well, I tried the online version of the game several times, and one time, I used all my helps, but I still got to the million dollar question, guessed the answer, and got it right. Even though some of the questions were way too American, and I'm not American. The millionth dollar question was, by the way, the Ufitti Galery is located in what Italian city? I had a hunch that it was Florence, even though it was a pure guess, but I still got it right. No, I didn't use Wikipedia to help me with any of the answers, which is why I actually used the save. Anyway, if someone like me can get past the online version, I can't see why nobody got past the one million in real life, although the actual game may be harder. Thanks. ~ A H  1 (TCU) 18:41, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

That's probably because you have such good memory. I think that Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is a game that requires memory, not intellegence. This can be why a lot of people never make it to the million-dollar question; they're like, aged 20+ years old and it's been ten years for them since they had 5th grade. From my view, it's not that easy to remember something that happened at least ten years ago! Slapmeorelse (talk) 14:40, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

No 5th Grader could answer all of the questions!
I am currently a 12th grader, with a 3.3 GPA, and I can only answer perhaps 75% of the questions. One thing that the show (The U.S. version at least) fails to tell you is that those 5th graders there are probably some of the 5 smartest 5th graders in the United States. They aren't just average 5th graders. Also there are only 2 "5th grade" questions, in all honesty not many adults would be stumped by questions that are supposedly second grade questions. Just saying. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.168.147.12 (talk) 17:46, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

It's a game show. The students are actually given study guides to help learn the answers - and yes, they are apparently very bright. This doesn't really invalidate the show's premise, since this material all very much does come from elementary school, and no one would think every last one of the show's contestants before Kathy Cox is actually less intelligent than a 10-year-old based solely on their performance —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.100.187.34 (talk) 02:03, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

Page reshuffle
The main Are you smarter page is currently called Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader it should be called Are You Smarter Than to make it a generic page for the show


 * No, it shouldn't.  The title should be the most common name for a thing, which is Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?.  All other versions should be linked from a DAB, which they are (via the versions section) -- ShinmaWa(talk) 20:04, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Selection of contestants and students
I'm interested in learning how contestants and students are chosen. Can someone add that info to the article? DBlomgren (talk) 05:18, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Commentary about U.S. eduction?
I've only seen the U.S. version; I suppose that the same would apply to any other version, also... It seems like analysing the programme (particularly the enormous number of U.S.-centric questions, and especially the apparent obsession with U.S. presidents) might say something intersting about purposes / methods of U.S. education and about the epistomological assumptions on which it's based. Has any scholarly work been done on this topic within conventional (or, I suppose, novel) conceptual frameworks? It also seems interesting to examine the abilities of the adults on the questions: If the programme's content accurately reflects what is being taught in primary school and if adults have forgotten many of the things taught there then might it be that many of the topics being taught are irrelevant? As an orthogonal question: Is anyone able to write something about the political / policy aims of the programme? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.111.69.62 (talk) 05:11, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

Kathy Cox/Cathy Cox
It's spelled Kathy. Here's her bio page on the Georgia educational system's website. That should satisfy WP:V quite nicely. Miquonranger03 (talk) 03:52, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

My Network TV/NBC
I just saw a commercial on my local NBC station, and they said that it would air Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? starting this fall. This page says the new syndicated version will air on My Network TV. If it is a "syndicated version", it won't just air on My Network TV, and besides, it will air on my NBC station. I say that the My Network TV comment be removed. 68.114.255.221 (talk) 01:30, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Adding a "criticism" section?
I feel that it should be pointed out somewhere in the article that the questions being asked on the show (at least in the higher-$ questions) aren't something that an elementary school student would really know, and I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find some sources to back this up. Questions about periodic elements, for example, wouldn't be studied until middle school at best. A 5th grader knowing John Adam's political party? No way. Summation: the title of the show is really misleading, and should be mentioned *somewhere* 68.2.28.166 (talk) 03:53, 30 November 2013 (UTC)

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