Preesha Chakraborty, a nine-year-old Indian-American schoolgirl, was named in the "world’s brightest” students list. The list was released by the prestigious Johns Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth, based on the results of above-grade-level tests of over 16,000 students across 90 countries.
Preesha, who is a Warm Spring Elementary school student in Fremont, California, took the US-based Johns Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth (JH-CTY) test in Summer 2023 as a Grade 3 student.
A media release published on Monday said she 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.
Preesha was honoured after displaying an 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.
Preesha, who aced in the test's verbal and quantitative sections - on par with the 99th percentile of advanced Grade 5 performances - bagged the Grand Honors.
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, the press release read.
Preesha 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, said.
"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," Shelton said.
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.
(With PTI inputs)
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