Over 500 Katy ISD Students Participate in Duke University Talent Search  

KATY [May 18, 2018] –  Katy ISD is proud to announce that 502 seventh grade students participated in the Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) this year.  The Duke TIP program helps gifted students discover their abilities, explore new academic challenges and celebrates their accomplishments.  Both students and their parents are provided the resources to allow participants to reach their full educational potential.  The first talent search took place in 1980 and every year nearly 100,000 new students enroll.  Students participating in the talent search demonstrated advanced aptitudes on grade level assessment which qualifies them to take both the PSAT and ACT test.

“Katy ISD is very fortunate to have a variety of academically talented students.  The commitment of the district’s GT (Gifted and Talented) and Advanced Academics Department is to keep all our students engaged and thriving in diverse educational challenges,” said Dr. Christine Caskey, Chief Academic Officer at Katy ISD.

“Duke TIP allows students with advanced intellectual abilities the opportunity to assess the extent of their skills through a variety of enrichment benefits,” added Alene Lindley, Director of Secondary Curriculum – GT and Advanced Academics.

This year 309 of those students who took the test, qualified to participate in either the Academy for Summer Studies or the Center for Summer Studies.   State recognition was given to 250 students whose scores were equal to the 50th national percentile ranks for college-bound seniors taking the test. Additionally, 36 students earned Grand Recognition for achieving a score that is equal to the 90th national percentile rank for college-bound seniors in at least one subject.