Natasha Peri, an 11-year-old Indian American girl, has been declared one of the brightest students in the world by a top university in the US. Representing Thelma L Sandmeier Elementary School in New Jersey, Natasha participated in a talent search test by the Johns Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth (CTY). She was honoured for her exceptional SAT and ACT standardised tests performance.
The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT) is conducted to evaluate a student’s merit before offering him/her admission. Sometimes several companies and non-profit organisations use SAT and ACT scores to award merit-based scholarships.
As per a press release by news agency PTI, Natasha competed with around 19,000 students across 84 countries during the Johns Hopkins Talent Search test in spring 2021. At that time, she was in Grade 5. “Her results in the verbal and quantitative sections levelled with the 90th percentile of advanced Grade 8 performance,” PTI reported.
CTY in Baltimore conducts an above-grade-level test to identify students across the globe and offer a clear picture of their true academic abilities. Still, Natasha, who likes doodling and reading JRR Tolkien’s novels, made the cut for Johns Hopkins CTY “High Honors Awards”. “This motivates me to do more,” Natasha was quoted as saying by PTI.
Roughly 20% of CTY Talent Search participants qualified for CTY High Honours Awards. The honourees are qualified for the Talent Search test and qualified for CTY’s online and summer programmes. With the help of these programmes, bright students can build a community to engage with other bright students around the world.
“We are thrilled to celebrate these students,” Virginia Roach, CTY’s executive director, was quoted as stating. “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.”
