New Delhi: A 9-year-old Indian-American student Preesha Chakraborty, who resides in California, was named in the World’s Brightest Students list. The school going girl was listed by the prestigious Johns Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth. She was selected based on the results of the grade-level tests of over 16,000 students from across 90 countries.

A statement was issued following the selection of the child on Monday, wherein it was said, “Preesha is a Warm Spring Elementary school student in Fremont, California, and took the US-based Johns Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth (JH-CTY) 2023 test in summer last year as a Grade 3 student.”

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, the press release stated.

Preesha was selected among 16,000 students from across 90 countries

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. Reportedly, less than 30 per cent of students qualify each year for either High Honors or Grand Honors 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.

With this achievement, Preesha qualifies 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.

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 the 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.

According to her parents, Preesha has always been passionate about learning and has consistently displayed exceptional academic abilities. Preesha also loves travelling, hiking, and mixed martial arts outside of studies.

"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.