(Newswire.net — May 16, 2015) Baltimore, Maryland — Priyanka Aiyer, a high-achieving student from Singapore, was honored as one of the brightest young students in the world at a regional awards ceremony for academically advanced children sponsored by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY).
Priyanka, a participant in the CTY Talent Search, was recognized at the Hong Kong 2015 Awards Ceremony on Sunday, May 10, for her exceptional performance on a rigorous, abovegrade-level test given to academically talented second-through-eighth-grade students.
As part of the CTY Talent Search advanced young learners take above-grade level tests that identify academic talent and reveal gaps between a child’s academic program and his or her actual capacity for learning. Seventh and eighth graders take the SAT or ACT—the same tests
used for college admissions. These students, along with second through sixth graders, can also take the School and College Ability Test (SCAT), an above-level test, or the Spatial Test Battery (STB), which measures spatial ability. Priyanka took the SAT in May 2014 while she was in the
eighth grade and secured very impressive scores of 760 in Writing (99th percentile) and 730 in Critical Reading (97th percentile), and a very good score of 630 in Math (81st percentile).
Priyanka, a student at the Singapore American School, was one of more than 33,000 students from 60-plus countries who participated in the CTY Talent Search this year by testing between March 2014 and February 2015. Because of the difficulty of the tests, only about 30 percent of
students who participated earned an invitation to a CTY Awards Ceremony where they are individually honored for their academic performance and potential. Most students honored in 2015 CTY Award Ceremonies also qualified for CTY’s summer courses and online classes.
“Congratulations to all of the outstanding young people recognized as part of the CTY Awards Ceremonies for their willingness to challenge themselves by taking a test originally designed for significantly older students,” said Elaine Tuttle Hansen, Executive Director of CTY. “This is an
opportunity to recognize these students’ achievements and to also honor the parents and educators who have nurtured and supported their intellectual growth and development.”
This spring, more than 8,470 CTY Talent Search honorees were invited to participate in 41 CTY
Award Ceremonies across the U.S. and in China and Hong Kong.
About Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
A nonprofit at one of the nation’s premier universities, CTY identifies academic talent in the world’s brightest K-12 learners and supports their growth with accredited summer, online, and family programs, services, and resources designed to meet their needs. CTY draws students from 50 states and 82 countries worldwide. CTY provided $5.8 million in financial aid to more than 7,400 students in fiscal 2014. CTY Talent Search participants are a diverse group: Among those who chose to report their ethnicity, 40 percent describe themselves as white or Caucasian, 26 percent as Asian American or Asian, 12 percent as Latino or Hispanic, 11 percent as black or African American, 6 percent as of South Asian origin, less than one percent as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, less than one percent as Native American, and 5 percent as other. For more information about enrolling in the CTY Talent Search, go to www.cty.jhu.edu.