LEWISTON – Kristin Therrien and Devin Van Dyke, students at Lewiston Middle School, were recently honored at a statewide awards ceremony for gifted children held by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth.

They were invited to the ceremony based on exceptional performances on a rigorous, above-grade-level test given to fifth- through eighth-grade Talent Search participants. Seventh- and eighth-graders took the SAT or ACT, the same tests used for college admissions. Fifth- and sixth-graders took the PLUS, a test similar to the SAT scaled for younger students.

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

The test results give families a better idea of a child’s academic talents, particularly in comparison to the thousands of other students in the Talent Search. Students can also earn recognition at awards ceremonies, and their test scores may qualify them for center summer programs and distance education courses.

About 30 percent of the 16,500 fifth- and sixth-graders who tested last winter earned an invitation to an Awards ceremony and about 25 percent of more than 30,000 seventh- and eighth-grade testers earned an invitation.

Therrien and Van Dyke joined other recipients at the state ceremony and were individually honored by John Hopkins for academic performance and promise. For more information, visit www.cty.jhu.edu.