Center for Talented Youth

Center For Talented Youth
A CTY afternoon activity at LMU in Los Angeles
Information
School type	gifted education
Founded	1979
Founder	Julian Stanley
Authority	Johns Hopkins University
Director	Elaine Tuttle Hansen
Age	6 to 17
Enrollment	10000+
Classes offered	Mathematics, Computer Science, Humanities, and Science
Accreditation	grades K-12
Website	cty.jhu.edu

The Center for Talented Youth (CTY) is a gifted education program for school-age children founded in 1979 by Julian Stanley at Johns Hopkins University. It was initially established as a research study into the rate at which gifted children can learn new material, and became the first program of its kind to identify academically talented youths and provide them with learning opportunities. CTY offers numerous programs around the world and online but is best known for its fast-paced Summer Programs, which are held on many university campuses throughout the United States and the world, serving over 10,000 students each year. CTY is an accredited school for grades K to 12 by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

CTY has held several previous names. Dr. Stanley's research groups, the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) and the Program for Verbally Gifted Youth (PVGY), were combined in the early 1980s to form the Office of Talent Identification and Development (OTID). OTID was renamed Center for Talented Youth, which was expanded to Center for the Advancement of Academically Talented Youth (CAATY) for a brief period. Later, CTY became the Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth (IAAY). However, most students, parents, schools, and staff members preferred to call it CTY, and the name was changed back in 1999.

Generally from October to February each year, CTY's Talent Search recruits elementary and middle school students (who have scored at or above the 95th percentile on in-grade standardized tests) to qualify for its academic programs. Qualified applicants then take a standardized test that is above their grade level, beyond the ability of most children their age. Students in 2nd to 3th grades take the School and College Ability Test (SCAT) at the Elementary level, administered by either CTY or Prometric. Students in 4th and 5th grades take the SCAT at the Intermediate level. Previously the PLUS test was used. Students in 6th to 11th grades take the SAT, ACT, or the advanced SCAT.