National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents are national Middle and High Schools in Iran developed specifically for the development of exceptionally talented students in Iran. Admission to schools
Admission to Nodet schools is selective and based on a comprehensive nationwide entrance examination procedure. Every year thousands of students apply to enter the schools, from which le
ss than 5% are chosen for the 99 middle schools and 98 high-schools within the country. The process of entrance to these schools includes two tests devised to measure intelligence and talent of the participants rather than their acquired knowledge. Once students are considered competitive, they are allowed to take the first test, the result of which determines if they are allowed to take the second test. The source of questions is not pre-announced. The style of the questions in the entrance exam varies from one exam (or one section of the exam) to another, but rather unique types of questions are included in the exams each year. There are some questions that describe a certain phenomena and a problem surrounding it, asking the student to choose from one of the four possible answers, but also describe the reason of their choice. And the evaluation of the answer wouldn't be based on the choice, but on the described reason, trying to distinguish students with higher reasoning abilities. To mention another uncommon type of question, starting with a brief introduction on a certain scientific concept that most students don't have any knowledge about, the student is given a problem with enough description to make the student be able to solve the problem through mental mathematical calculations, scientific reasoning or even their instinct, making it possible for students with different types of problem solving skills to be selected.
