National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents
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National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents (NODET; also known by its native acronym SAMPAD) is an Iranian organization founded in 1976 that governs a series of selective schools.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
HistoryEdit
The organization was founded in the Autumn of 1976 by Iraj Broomand as National Iranian Organization for Gifted and Talented Education (NIOGATE), with two mixed-gender schools in Tehran (Alvand and Bolvar), with a budget of 13 million tomans.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=BroomandSisk>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It was to serve as a model of excellence for education in Iran. This innovative organization was short-lived but its influence in the country was significant.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Several international and American organizations collaborated with this nascent program,<ref name=BroomandSisk /> including the University of Southern California and the United Nations Education Commission.<ref>Broomand, Iraj. Simaye Kolli-ye Sazman-e Melli-ye Parvaresh-e Este'dadha-ye Derkhshan, pp. 34-35 (in Persian), cited by: Template:Cite journal</ref>
After the 1979 Revolution, the organization was continuing its work unofficially, until it was re-established in 1987 as National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents (NODET; Template:Langx Sāzmān-e Melli-ye Parvaresh-e Este'dādhā-ye Derakhshān, acronym {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} SAMPAD).<ref name="financialtribune">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
SchoolsEdit
The organization has 99 middle schools and 98 high schools.<ref name="financialtribune" /><ref>For more information about the history of the schools and their statistics, see Exceptional Talents, 1997 (Spring) Vol. 6 , No 1.</ref>
The schools are informally called Tizhooshan ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, literally "sharp minds"). The boys schools in Tehran are often named Allameh Helli ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) and the girls schools are often named Farzanegan ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EntranceEdit
The organization recruits students annually through a two-step set of nationwide exams at both middle school and high school levels.<ref name=mizan>Template:Cite news</ref> The tests are designed to measure intelligence, talent and creativity rather than prior knowledge.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The rate of acceptance is less than 5% for the thousands of students who apply annually.<ref name="financialtribune" />
The entrance for the educational and administrative staff is also selective.<ref name=mizan /> The teachers tend to be the best in the country.<ref name="financialtribune" />
Education systemEdit
The educational materials, facilities, instructional methodologies, coursework and curriculum are different in these schools, and intended to develop the students' talents.<ref name=mizan /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The courses are college-level in fields such as biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics and English. The schools usually offer only two majors, mathematics-physics and experimental sciences.<ref name="financialtribune" />
Virtually all medals in the Iranian Science Olympiads are won by the NODET students. The students are also top performers in many International Science Olympiads.<ref name="financialtribune" /><ref>For more statistics on this matter, refer to Template:Cite journal</ref>
AlumniEdit
NODET alumni usually pursue higher education up to postgraduate level.<ref name="financialtribune" />
Some of the alumni are world class researchers in STEM fields and medicine.<ref name="financialtribune" /> Notable alumni include the mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> chess grandmaster Elshan Moradi, computer scientist Farinaz Koushanfar, and Unicode expert Roozbeh Pournader.