Ten of the Best High School Student Quiz Shows in America

Previous articles I did about game shows had one thing in common. They were all at the national level regardless if it was for the adult or for the kid or for both. Bowling for Dollars was an exception to that rule (and believe it or not it was from Romper Room creator Bert Claster). There is one other form of game show but most people in that genre would prefer to use the term Quiz show rather than game show. Regardless, the TV student quiz show has been one type of show that has managed to stay at the local level, in spite of all the changes in our televised media. While these programs have roots in the game shows of the golden age of radio and TV, these Quiz Shows are viewed as Sport… just more for brain rather than your brawn. In fact, you have many non-televised Quiz Bowls throughout the world… with its trappings of ring in devices (ranging from basic bells to lock out buzzers), but let us focus on the TV Student Quiz Shows/Bowls/Tournaments.
I will not go into the game play of every High School Student Quiz show since most of them have similar rules and styles of gameplay. Also, I will focus on shows that are currently active. If a specific show has a standout difference in the rules and format of the show, I shall point that out. Otherwise I shall point out how long the show has been on, the programs presenters, the station (‘s) that has carried the program(that is if I was able to find those things out). It’s amazing what the internet can do with stuff like this.

1. It’s Academic: It is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running TV quiz program in history… heck even beating out Jeopardy! The original version that is recognize by Guinness is the High School Quiz out of our nation’s Capital and a long running local staple on WRC-TV since 1961. The show was originally hosted by Mac McGarry who hosted show from its beginning up until his retirement in 2011. He also was host of the nearby Baltimore version which continues to air on WJZ. McGarry passed away in 2013, but both versions have carried on with Hillary Howard on WRC and Dave Zahren on WJZ. The one thing that make “It’s Academic” stand out is that it’s likely the only known student TV quiz in which three schools compete (with three active contestants on a team) on a single episode rather than just two teams of either three or four active contestants. There are a few active various of this quiz show done in various markets. The official It’s Academic format is done on KDKA-TV Pittsburgh (as “Hometown High-Q”), WEWS Cleveland, Ohio (as “Academic Challenge”), and KFVE (as “It’s Academic Hawaii”). It’s Academic was created by Sophie Altman.
“It’s Academic” website
http://www.itsacademicquizshow.com/

2. Battle of the Brains: After Richmond, VA lost its version of “It’s Academic” this program took its place in 1978 and has ran on several different TV stations in the market including a single season on a local public access cable channel. This quiz show is still going strong in Richmond. Currently BotB is airing on WTVR-TV and is presented by Cheryl Miller who also anchor’s the station’s Noon Newscast, and its daily local entertainment and lifestyle show “Virginia This Morning”
Battle of The Brains website
http://www.battleofthebrains.net/

3. Matchwits: This student quiz from Colorado was truly the little engine that could. It originally aired live on PBS member station KTSC-TV in Pueblo from 1977-1980. After an extended hiatus KTSC brought back the student quiz in 1987 (and with the technology to Pre-Record shows as well) and has featured students from high school in the Colorado Springs, Pueblo and sounding areas. When Denver’s Rocky Mountain PBS acquired KTSC, they put the quiz show on sister station KRMJ in Grand Junction and the program allowed those area’s school to be illegible on the quiz show. In 2006, RMPBS canceled the show, but the response of the local Pueblo community and a successful fund-raising campaign allowed the long running quiz to continue. Starting in the show’s 32nd season, Matchwits was also carried on RMPBS’s flagship station KRMA in Denver while the show is still produced in KTSC’s studios in Pueblo. The show has had two different hosts to date but had one thing in common. They both were weather forecasters who did weather at the same station in the Pueblo-Colorado Springs market (KOAA-TV). The late J. Ralph Carter, and current host Craig Elliot.
Websites for Matchwits
http://www.rmpbs.org/matchwits/
https://www.facebook.com/Matchwits/

4. News Channel 3 Knowledge Bowl: This Memphis high school quiz has been a staple on WREC-TV for over 30 years and one of its claims is that the show awards the most money in scholarships than any other student quiz show in the Country. To date it has awarded $3.8 Million in scholarships. The Knowledge Bowl is currently hosted WREG’s meteorologist Jim Jaggers who currently does the weather forecasts on the station’s early and late evening newscasts and has been a longtime staple in Memphis media since the late 1970’s.
News Channel 3 Knowledge Bowl’s website at wreg.org
http://wreg.com/on-air/knowledge-bowl/

5. As Schools Match Wits: ASMW is Western New England’s long running student quiz show since 1961 and aired on commercial and NBC affiliate station WWLP from 1961 until 2006 and moving to PBS member station WGBY in 2007. The quiz show’s main theme is not consistent with the music tastes with the today’s teens, for it’s a Leroy Anderson piece titled “Bugler’s Holiday.” The “Captialzation” round of this quiz uses a Jeopardy styled board in which the top answers are 30 points going backwards to 15 points. Except each point value has a series of questions (mostly five) instead of just one. If a team is stumped on a question then the opposing has shot at the question aka a chance to capitalize on their opponent’s miss of the question. “As Schools Match Wits” is hosted by Western Mass News anchor and personality Beth Ward. ASMW was created by Leonard J. Collamore, and is produced by WGBY-TV, Westfield State University, and Nexstar Media (parent company of the show’s former station WWLP).
ASMW’s websites
http://www.wgby.org/asmw
https://www.facebook.com/As-Schools-Match-Wits-263410654651/

6. Granite State Challenge: GSC has been a staple on New Hampshire Public Television since the quiz started in 1983. Believe it or not the show’s first season was hosted by Tom Bergeron…yes, the same Tom Bergeron who currently hosts “Dancing with The Stars” and also did hosting stints on “American’s Funniest Home Videos” and the last revival of “Hollywood Squares.” From the second season up to the present the quiz master of Granite State Challenge is Jim Jeannotte.
More information on GSC can be found below
GCS’s website at NHPTV.org
http://www.nhptv.org/gsc/

7. High School Quiz Show: It’s only been around since 2009, but since it airs on famous PBS member station WGBH Boston, you got to include this high school student quiz show in the list. It’s a good thing that I did, cause this quiz show brings the attitude of many of your typical game shows like The Price Is Right, Let’s Make a Deal, Family Feudetc, with an audience as if they were at a sports competition. Did I not say that Student Quiz competitions are like Sports for the brain?HSQS’s Category Round has six categories with five questions within that category with increasing point values and are tossups, and contestants can change categories as many times in the rounds as long as their questions left in category. Not too many High School quiz shows have the energy and exactment as HSQS does, but while it tries to have fun it does take the competition seriously. It is nice to see such a student quiz that is not taking themselves too seriously like so many do.
HSQS websites
http://www.wgbh.org/quizshow/
https://www.youtube.com/user/HighSchoolQuizShow

8. Double Down: This Syracuse, New York High School quiz airs on PBS member station WCNY-TV. It has been on since 2009, and the reason why this quiz show is called “Double Down” is because of the show’s second round in which both teams have can try up to three times in the round to go for a Double Down question if they get one of the regular questions in round correct. If they go for the DD question and get it correct they score 40 points but lose the 20 they earn before the DD if they get the respected question wrong. It also has a Final Jeopardy! styled endgamecalled the Final Double Down Question in which the teams wager their points, so unlike other High School Quiz shows, there is a possibility of an upset win. This quiz does not use ring in devices and the teams take turn answering questions. The show does have a game show feel with its logo, but it leans more being your typical high school quiz show…but it’s nice to have that game show feel.
Double Down website at WCNY.org
http://www.wcny.org/television/doubledown/

9. KEDT-TV Challenge: This Corpus Christi high school quiz show has been on PBS member station KEDT since 2005 and is produced in partnership with Corpus Christi’s local newspaper the Caller-Times. While it’s your typical high school quiz show, this one really uses a lot of sounds effects for correct and wrong answers along with its lock out buzzers. The show is hosted by Eric Boyd, and claims to be the second most watched show on the TV station. What is the first if you are wondering? WGBH’s “Antiques Roadshow” which is seen on national PBS feed.
KEDT-TV Challenge websites:
http://www.kedt.org/challenge-season-xii/
http://links.caller.com/challenge/season12/

10. High Q: Cox Media’s flagship station WSB-TV in Atlanta Georgia has been doing this quiz show since the mid 1980’s. One of the stand out rules is a question in the first and final rounds that allows the teams to wager their scores on a selected question…otherwise the other questions are buzz in tossups with no penalties for wrong answers. In the show’s speed round called the “Quick Quiz, in which a single team plays a single category of 20 questions within 60 seconds, any questions missed by the team allows the opposing team to answer them once the 60 seconds has elapsed for their rivals. It is currently hosted by Katie Walls who is one of the Meteorologists on WSB’s “Severe Weather Team.” There is something about meteorologists or just plain weather forecasters (or news anchors) being turned into high school quiz bowl masters.
High Q’s website at WSBtv.com
http://www.wsbtv.com/community/high-q