Ravinder Dhesi, a middle school student from Richmond, was recently honored at a statewide awards ceremony for gifted children held by The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth.

Ravinder was invited to this awards ceremony sponsored by Center for Talented Youth (www.cty.jhu.edu) based on an exceptional performance on a rigorous, above-grade-level test given to second through eighth grade Talent Search participants.

Seventhand eighth-graders took the SAT or ACT, the tests used for college admissions. Secondthrough sixth-graders took the SCAT, an above-level test scaled for younger students.

Since 1979, CTY has sought the most academically able elementaryand middle-school students and encouraged their enrollment in the annual fall CTY Talent Search, open September through November. Students then test in December or January.

The results of these tests give families a better idea of a child's academic talents, particularly in comparison to the thousands of other academically talented students in the Talent Search.

Students can also earn recognition at CTY's awards ceremonies, and their test scores may qualify them for CTY's summer programs and distance education courses.

In 2006-07 alone, more than 73,000 students from 19 states and the District of Columbia participated in the Talent Searches offered through CTY.

About 30 percent of the secondand sixth-graders who tested this winter earned an invitation to CTY's Awards Ceremony, and about 25 percent of the seventhand eighth-grade testers earned an invitation to an awards ceremony.

Ravinder, who attends Providence Middle School, joined other award recipients at the recent state ceremony, and was individually honored by Johns Hopkins for her academic performance and promise.

"With our annual award ceremonies, we're committed to giving these exceptional young people a stage on which to recognize their academic achievements, just as we celebrate achievements in athletics or the performing arts," said CTY executive director Lea Ybarra. "Their performance places them in the top tier of students taking these tests, and they certainly deserve acclaim."

Who gets the credit for success?

"The students," said Ybarra. "They possess an academic fearlessness and intellectual ability that will benefit their entire generation." Leading them to their success, she said, are parents and educators. "Parents who support and encourage their children and teachers who inspire through their knowledge and passion for a subject create engaged young people who are well-prepared to lead and shape tomorrow's world."

Virginia's 2008 awards ceremonies are scheduled at the University of Richmond on Saturday, May 17, and George Mason University on Saturday, May 24.

The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth conducts the nation's oldest and most extensive academic talent search and offers educational programming for students with exceptionally high academic ability.

CTY parallels and complements a gifted child's regular school experience. CTY's programs and students have been profiled in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker.