Two Indian origin girls – New Jersey-based Indian American Natasha Peri, 11; and Dubai-based Priyamvada Deshmukh, 12 – have been named to the world’s “brightest” students list based on results of above-grade-level testing of 19,000 students across 84 countries, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, a part of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
It comes on the back of an exceptional performance shown by Natasha Peri, in the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT). These are the tests that are used to determine if or not a student should be admitted to a college. Several colleges in the US use these tests as qualifying criteria to grant admission to students. She made the cut for Johns Hopkins CTY “High Honors Awards”.
Deshmukh, a student of GEMS Modern Academy, Dubai, has been honored for her exceptional performance on the SCAT assessment taken as part of the CTY Talent Search, a university statement said.
These tests were conducted as part of the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth Talent (CTY) Search. CTY uses above-grade-level testing to identify advanced students from around the world and provide a clear picture of their true academic abilities. The quantitative section of the Johns Hopkins CTY test measures the ability to see relationships between quantities expressed in mathematical terms, the verbal section measures understanding of the meaning of words and the relationships between them.
Peri took the Johns Hopkins Talent Search test in Spring 2021, when she was in Grade 5. What makes the feat incredible is the fact that her results in the verbal and quantitative sections levelled with the 90th percentile of advanced Grade 8 performance. “This motivates me to do more,” she said, adding that doodling and reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels may have worked for her.
Deshmukh took the Johns Hopkins Talent Search test in Spring 2020, when she was still in Grade 6. Her results in the verbal sections levelled with the advanced Grade 10 performance. She made the cut for Johns Hopkins CTY ‘High Honors Awards’. Due to the Covid-19 induced delay in global logistics support, she finally received her much awaited “High Honors” pin this week, which she lovingly kept in front of her grandparents’ photograph as tribute to her roots.
“We are thrilled to celebrate these students,” said Virginia Roach, CTY’s executive director. “In a year that was anything but ordinary, their love of learning shined through, and we are excited to help cultivate their growth as scholars and citizens throughout high school, college, and beyond,” Roach added.
