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.[2]
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.[3][4][5] 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.[6] Several international and American organizations collaborated with this nascent program,[4] including the University of Southern California and the United Nations Education Commission.[7]
After 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; Persian: سازمان ملی پرورش استعدادهای درخشانSāzmān-e Melli-ye Parvaresh-e Este'dādhā-ye Derakhshān, acronym سمپادSAMPAD).[8]
The schools are informally called Tizhooshan (تیزهوشان, literally "the Gifted").
The boys schools in Tehran are often named Allameh Helli (علامه حلی) and the girls schools are often named Farzanegan (فرزانگان).[10]
The organization recruits students annually through a two-step set of nationwide exams at both middle school and high school levels.[11] The tests are designed to measure the intelligence, talents and creativity, rather than prior knowledge.[12][13] The rate of acceptance is less than 5% for the thousands of students who apply annually.[8]
The entrance for the educational and administrative staff is also selective.[11] The teachers tend to be the best in the country.[8]
The educational materials, facilities, instructional methodologies, coursework and curriculum are different in these schools, and intended to develop the students' talents.[11][14]
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.[8]
Virtually all medals in the Iranian Science Olympiads are won by the NODET students. The students are also top performers in many International Science Olympiad.[8][15]
^A Brief History of NIOGATE: An Experiment in Gifted Education in Iran. San Francisco: National Association for Gifted Children. 1979.
^ abBroomand, Iraj (January 1982). Sisk, Dorothy (ed.). "A Brief Review of Iranian Program Prototype for Gifted and Talented Education". Gifted International. 1 (1). New York: Trillium Press: 1–16. doi:10.1080/15332276.1982.11672661.
^Gifted International. World Council for Gifted and Talented Children. 1982. pp. 1–16.
^Broomand, Iraj. Simaye Kolli-ye Sazman-e Melli-ye Parvaresh-e Este'dadha-ye Derkhshan, pp. 34-35 (in Persian), cited by: Eje'i, Javad (Spring 2002). "گزینش تیزهوشان قبل و بعد از انقلب(۲)"(PDF). Exceptional Talents (in Persian). 11 (1): 33.
^Gifted International. World Council for Gifted and Talented Children. 1982. p. 16.
^For more statistics on this matter, refer to Eje'i, Javad (Autumn 2005). "سمپاد و استمرار موفقیتها"(PDF). Exceptional Talents (in Persian). 14 (3): 237-255.
