Indian-American Preesha Chakraborty in 'World's Brightest Students' List

Preesha is named among 16,000 students across 90 countries.

Nine-year-old Indian American Preesha Chakraborty, a Warm Spring Elementary School student in Fremont, California, was named in the "world’s brightest” students list by the JH-CTY.

(Photo Altered by Chetan Bhakuni/The Quint)

Mirror, Mirror on the wall,

Who is the world’s brightest student of all?

It's Preesha Chakraborty!

The prestigious Johns Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth (JH-CTY) says so.

Nine-year-old Indian American Preesha Chakraborty, a Warm Spring Elementary School student in Fremont, California, was named in the "world’s brightest” students list by the JH-CTY.

The announcement was on the basis of results from the above-grade-level tests of over 16,000 students across 90 countries.

Why Is This a Big Deal?

Preesha took the JH-CTY test in the summer of 2023 as a Grade 3 student. Of the 16,000 who take the test, less than 30 percent of students qualify for either High Honors or Grand Honors/SET based on their test scores.

According to a media release on Monday, 15 January, Preesha scored high in the test’s verbal and quantitative sections — on par with the 99th percentile of advanced Grade 5 performances — and bagged the Grand Honors.

What Next For Preesha?

Preesha now 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.

'Displays Exceptional Academic Ability'

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

Preesha is a lifetime member of the 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.

“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.

Last year, in 2023, Natasha Perianayagam, a 13-year-old Indian American, was named to the “world’s brightest” students list for the second consecutive year. Her results were based on above-grade-level tests of over 15,000 students across 76 countries.

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.