84% of Eligible CSS Students Excel on CTY Tests

This year, Columbia Secondary School established a recruitment relationship with the Center for Talented Youth, a program founded by the Johns Hopkins University (CTY-JHU) to provide summer enrichment programs for students showing advanced abilities in their quantitative and verbal reasoning.  In part, because of the socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic diversity of our talented student population, CTY-JHU was eager to get our students tested, with the hope that many would qualify for their summer programs and be eligible for financial aid scholarships.

This year, CSS invited 56 students to take the CTY tests.  These were students who had attained a 700 or higher on their NY State ELA or Math raw scores in the previous school year.  Sixth grade students took the School and College Abilities Test (SCAT) and seventh grade students took the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), normally taken by high school seniors.  Of the 56 who took the exams, 47 qualified for CTY summer programs, available only to the top 5% of the normed test population.  CTY testing coordinator Nara Han writes, "Your students did remarkably well--84% of your SAT test takers are eligible for Summer Programs."  This is compared with what Han states about those who typically take the exams: "Roughly 30% of younger students (grade 6 and younger) qualify, whereas 20% of older (grade 7 and higher) students qualify for programs."