John Hopkins Names Nine-year-old Indian-American Girl Among World’s Brightest Students

New Delhi: The prestigious Johns Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth named a nine-year-old Indian-American schoolgirl, Preesha Chakraborty was named to the “world’s brightest” students list, based on the results of above-grade-level tests of over 16,000 students across 90 countries.

Preesha is a Warm Spring Elementary school student in Fremont, California, and took the US-based Johns Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth (JH-CTY) test in Summer 2023 as a Grade 3 student, a media release said on Monday. Preesha figured in the list after the results of above-grade-level tests of over 16,000 students from more than 90 countries around the world were assessed, it said, according to PTI.

She was honoured for her exceptional performance on the SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test), ACT (American College Testing), School and College Ability Test, or similar assessments as part of the CTY Talent Search.

Notably, less than 30 per cent of students qualify each year for either High Honors or Grand Honors/SET based on their test scores.

She aced in the test’s verbal and quantitative sections – on par with the 99th percentile of advanced Grade 5 performances – and bagged the Grand Honors, according to the press release.

What does the honour mean?

The achievement qualifies Preesha for more than 250 Johns Hopkins CTY’s Online and On-Campus Programmes for advanced students in grades 2-12 in mathematics, computer programming, chemistry, physics, reading, and writing.

She is a lifetime member of the universally renowned Mensa Foundation, the oldest high-IQ society in the world, where membership is open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test.

She achieved this accomplishment at age six by securing 99 percentiles in the national level NNAT (Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test), which assesses K-12 students for gifted and talented programmes. Preesha loves travelling, hiking, and mixed martial arts outside of studies.

According to her parents, Preesha has always been passionate about learning and has consistently displayed exceptional academic abilities.

“This is not just recognition of students’ performance on one test, but a testament to their curiosity and capacity for learning,” Amy Shelton, Executive Director of the CTY, was quoted as saying, adding that these students have demonstrated enormous potential, and now we encourage them to seek out experiences and communities that help them challenge and stretch their knowledge, connect with other young scholars, understand diverse perspectives, think critically, and pursue their goals confidently.

Founded in 1979, CTY is a centre for innovation dedicated to advancing the field of gifted education through research on testing, programmes, and other support for advanced learners.