Each year, high-achieving seventh-grade students who qualify participate in the Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP) Seventh Grade Talent Search.  These seventh-graders take above-grade level tests, either the ACT or the SAT,  to help educators and families gain greater insight into their academic abilities.

This year, 130 students in Shelby County Schools participated in the program. Based on their performance on these college-level tests, 47 students will receive state recognition and six qualified for grand recognition.

The following schools had 2016 Duke TIP Award winners: Calera Middle (one state award winner); Chelsea Middle (one grand award winner, four state award winners); Columbiana Middle (four state award winners); Montevallo Middle (two state award winners), Oak Mountain Middle (four grand award winners and 28 state award winners); Helena Middle (one grand award winners and eight state award winners).

Students invited to the State Ceremony, which will be held May 9 at the University of Alabama, met at least one of the following criteria for the ACT or SAT. For the ACT, students must have scored greater than a 21 on the English, math, reading and science portions of the exam.  For the SAT, students had to score greater than 530 on math, 510 on critical reading, and 500 in on the writing portion.

Only about three percent of all the participants in the talent search nationwide qualify for grand recognition.  Students invited to the Grand Ceremony, which will be held May 16 at Duke University, must meet at least one of the following criteria on either the ACT or SAT. On the ACT, students must score greater than a 27 in science, 28 in math and on the composite score, a 29 in English, and 30 on the reading portion of the exam. For the SAT students must score greater than 650 on critical reading and writing; 680 on math, and 1850 on math plus critical reading plus writing.

The following students from Shelby County Schools qualified for the 2016 Grand Recognition: Chelsea Middle – Kaden Weldon; Helena Middle – Sarah Pitts; Oak Mountain Middle – Roshni Datta, Emily Faircloth, Aidan Dokland, and McKenna Moore.

The following students from Shelby County Schools qualified for State recognition: Calera Middle – Hailey Loth; Chelsea Middle – Alexander Gage, Jordan Mann, Jeffery Gross, and Kaden Weldon; Columbiana Middle – Madelyn Guy, David Kearley, Auston Hockman, and Zachary Robinson; Helena Middle – Jackson Blanton, Andrew Moon, Samantha Chancellor, Richard Oehrlein, Noah Crutsinger, Hailey Pearson, Andrew Hayes and Sarah Pitts; Montevallo Middle – Janie Gray and Aiyana Race; Oak Mountain Middle – Raney Collins, Cooper Ortega, Roshini Datta, Mar Perez, Aidan Dokland, Griffin Race, James Duncan, Grant Renfrow, Emily Faircloth, Wilson Rhodes, Elizabeth Fletcher, William Rowland, Madelyn Hageman, Devon Sapp, James Harris,         Charles Schwender, Kate Knowles, Hannah Smith, Griffin Little, Luke Smith, McKenna Moore,               Patrick Spence, Sidney Mueller, Joseph Tolbert, Emerson Mulder, Amalia Trujillo, Anna Mullis and         Chapelann Wetzel.