By Dorie Turner
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA - Georgia schools Superintendent Kathy Cox is drawing fire for an upcoming appearance on a popular game show.
Cox is scheduled to appear on Friday's season premiere of Fox's "Are you Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" but her Hollywood debut isn't going unnoticed by state lawmakers and educators upset over Georgia's low test scores and planned budget cuts for schools.
"I'm sure she's smarter than a fifth- grader, but I question the judgment of such a decision and the message it sends about her priorities," said Tim Callahan, spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, the state's largest nonunion organization for educators.
Cox said she accepted the invitation to go on the game show because it is family-friendly and promotes education.
"During my tenure as state superintendent of schools, class sizes have been lowered, a more rigorous, relevant curriculum has been implemented and students have more options for learning," Cox said in a written statement. "The 24 hours I spent filming '5th Grader' certainly did not distract me from that important work."
Atlanta viewers of the show will get a dose of partisan politics in Georgia.
State Rep. Rob Teilhet is running an ad during Friday's episode criticizing Cox for being on television "while students are struggling here in Georgia." The Smyrna Democrat's 30-second ad calls for smaller class sizes and beefed up pre-kindergarten programs to address the state's education woes. Cox is a Republican.
"I think everyone was a little surprised when the news came that the superintendent was going to appear on the show given everything that's happened this summer in Georgia," Teilhet said in a phone interview Thursday.
The state announced earlier this summer that 50,000 Georgia eighth-graders - nearly 40 percent - failed state-mandated math exams in the spring. And between 70-80 percent of sixth- and seventh-graders failed the social studies test, which led Cox to throw out the scores, claiming the exam questions didn't match what students had been taught.
On top of that, scores on the SAT college-entrance exam dropped for a second straight year in Georgia, pushing the state to 47th compared to other states and Washington, D.C.
The state is facing steep budget cuts this year as state revenues lag. Gov. Sonny Perdue has asked for most state departments and agencies to plan for up to 10 percent cuts to fill an expected $1 billion hole. He also is expected to cut 2 percent, or about $171 million, from state funding for Georgia's schools.
Georgia Republicans said Cox's critics are making a stir over nothing.
"I think it's fun," said Senate Education Committee Chairman Dan Weber, an attorney from Dunwoody in suburban Atlanta. "My hope is every fifth-grader in state of Georgia watches it and sees that being smart is cool and learning can be fun."
The episode was filmed earlier this month, but so far Cox has been silent about how she performed. She is scheduled to appear with model Kathy Ireland.
The popular game show pits adults against kids on questions about math, science, English and geography.
On the Net:
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?: http://www.fox.com/areyousmarter/
Georgia Department of Education: http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/
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Posted Comments
She won the whole darn thing, what's the gripe?
Unless I missed it in the article you failed to tell us if she did this on her own time or on the clock. This information would make a difference. If she was getting paid by Ga. for the time she was there then yes that angers me, but if she was doing it during her off time which everybody deserves then it is none of our business. Give us more facts!
Blame the parents for these low test scores, kids now do whatever they want to & parents are too scared to spank. I guess it's a lot easier to put the blame on someone who took a couple of days off. Education starts in the home!!
Thank goodness Jeff Foxworthy is a Georgian (Ga. Tech grad and former IBMer) and a good guy and will not allow the State of Georgia and Kathy Cox to be embarrassed on national TV with her lack of intellectual abilities - Does anyone remember the old TV game show The $64,000 Question ? Just maybe Superintenent Cox should give Hi Q a try before going national ? I fear she would be eliminated in the very early rounds. Geogians are embarrassed enough by our elected leaders and their lack of leadership for public education and disregard for the students of Georgia ! Maybe Cox with a K can become a permanent guest on the show - far better than Schrenko's current position and resident !
How dumb of Cox to appear on that show. She trivalizes education in Georgia, which is in a pathetic state. All the parents and education associations should come out against her. Thank you, Representative Teilhert, for getting wind of this disgraceful act and expressing the displeasure of Georgia citizens.
Hey Teilhet, maybe you should think before criticising your betters. You probably flunked out of fry chef school.
Did you see her? I think she is an embarrasment to our state. She hemmed and hawed over simple questions like how to spell granddaughter and the abbreviation for doctor. I wish she'd apppeared on What Not to Wear instead.
She is the first to win a million dollars on the show and is giving it to the school system- I bet she is saying "How do you like me now?"
She did a great job at making the state of Ga. look professional. thank you.
PAGE and their non-union BUTTS need to stop trying criticize Cathy Cox and worry about the principals, teachers, and superintendents that they represent. Idiots.