Cider Mill student Owen Abrahamsen and Middlebrook student Shikha Shah were honored at a regional awards ceremony for academically advanced children, sponsored by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY).
As two of more than 33,000 students from at least 60 countries who participated in this year’s CTY Talent Search, Owen and Shikha were recognized for their exceptional performance on the rigorous, above-grade-level tests given to academically talented students in second through eighth grade, according to a CTY press release.
As pas that identify academic talent and reveal gaps between a child’s academic program and his or her actual capacity for learning. Owen and Shikha tested between March 2014 and February 2015.
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.
Because of the difficulty of the tests, only about 30% of students who participated were invited to the CTY Awards Ceremony where they are individually honored for their academic performance and potential.
This spring, more than 8,470 CTY Talent Search honorees were invited to participate in 41 CTY Award Ceremonies across the United States and in China and Hong Kong.
Owen attended an award ceremony at Columbia University in New York on Saturday, May 15.
CTY Executive Director Elaine Tuttle Hansen said the CTY Awards Ceremonies are an opportunity to not only “recognize these students’ achievements but to also honor the parents and educators who have nurtured and supported their intellectual growth and development.”