It's every child's dream: You get to test your parents on your homework.

It's a concept that's making money for Fox television network with its popular game show, "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?'' And now seventh-graders from Bethel Park Independence Middle School will use it to not only test their parents, but to add to their social conscience.

This "game show," planned and scripted by pupils, is set for 7:30 p.m. next Thursday at the Independence Middle School Auditorium and will benefit Pittsburgh's Homeless Children's Education Fund.

Angelina Bartoffio, 13, of Bethel Park, is a young planner and a panelist who will, in the tradition of the show, help parents get the correct answers to questions such as seventh-graders are routinely asked in school.

"We picked the questions from all of the things we went over this year [math, science, language and more]," she said. "The questions get progressively harder."

Angelina is particularly anxious to help with math questions. She is studying polygons, triangles, ratios, proportions, fractions and algebra.

The homeless fund is a nonprofit agency established in 1999 to supplement federal funding for the educational needs of homeless children in Allegheny County. Headquartered in the Strip District, the nonprofit's mission is to serve as a voice for homeless children in the county and to ensure that they receive access to the same educational opportunities and experiences as their peers.

"It's always all about kids, particularly children who are underserved, underrepresented, abused, neglected and homeless," said Dr. Joseph F. Lagan, the fund's founder.

Statistics from the most recent census indicate that more than 3,000 children experience homelessness each year in Allegheny County and most of them are under age 12.

They come to local shelters with a parent or legal guardian, usually a single mother.

The policy of the State Department of Education is that homeless children must be admitted to the district in which they are residing or the district in which they began the school year. Transportation is often a problem, so when a child moves to a new shelter or transitional housing the school changes, often resulting in days or weeks of missed school.

HCEF provides learning centers and resource libraries in the local shelters to give these children a chance.

Pupils at Independence Middle School have worked on the game show benefit for three months. They began by watching an episode of "Are You Smarter;" then teacher Nadine Rossini presented them with information on homelessness in the county. Ms. Rossini has worked closely with HCEF.

Pupils are not charging for admission, but are asking the audience to bring new school art supplies that will go to an HCEF Learning Center.

"All of our students have played a role by volunteering to advertise, working on the set design, finding ways to get parents involved, creating the question bank and acting on the show," said Elisa Scheuerle, a math teacher.

"We have watched our students grow in their excitement and in their understanding of the importance of helping those less fortunate in their community. When we began, they were very focused on the game show. It took some time, but they have really come to understand what the night is really about. They were shocked to learn that students in their own school could be going through such difficult times and they would never even know it," Ms. Scheuerle said.

Bethel Park parents Steve Shannon, Nancy Deurbrouck, John Kolodziej, Jodi Hyrb, Peter Craven, Paul Bartoffio, Jennifer Yost, Stacey Papalia and Victoria Lofstead have volunteered to be contestants. They will try to answer questions written by the pupils. Then Joci Hyrb, Alycia Jimenez, Brittany Thomas, Melanie Hottel and Justin Brooks will take turns hosting, while about a dozen others will team up with the contestants in case they need to "cheat." The rules are similar to the Fox network show.

"They are all very much looking forward to putting their parents to the test. Anyone who can answer 12 questions from our six categories (social studies, science, language arts and reading, math, music and gym) will win the grand prize," Ms. Scheuerle said.

In recent years, pupils and staff at the school have helped at learning shelters for the homeless in Homewood, McKeesport and the North Side. Pupils have cleaned, painted, decorated and donated books and winter clothing, said Christine Schipani, a Bethel Park Spanish teacher.

"It is important for students at this developmental stage to see that they are part of a larger local community,'' she said.