For Nisha Devasia, there’s something satisfying about reaching the end of a math problem.

“There’s always an answer in math,” she said. “That’s what I like about it.”

Devasia has always known she’s been ahead of the curve in the subject. In kindergarten, she would be finishing her work before all of her classmates and asking for something more challenging. But when the 13-year-old Devasia walked into Nashua High School North last month to take the SATs, she wasn’t quite so confident, especially since she forgot her calculator.

It turns out she didn’t need it.

Devasia scored a perfect 800 on the math portion of the test. A seventh-grade student at the Academy for Science and Design charter school in Merrimack, Devasia was taking the test through the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth program. She is only the second student from New Hampshire to score perfect in math through the program. Devasia scored 2,100 overall.

The perfect math score was simply a confirmation of what Devasia, her teachers and her mother, Julie, have known for essentially her whole life: she is a math whiz.

Devasia said taking the SAT was her mom’s idea. She lives in Nashua, went to school at Bicentennial Elementary School and spent last year at Fairgrounds Middle School before making the switch to the Merrimack charter school this year. She said it’s been a good fit.

The school gives students the opportunity to take advanced math and science classes that may not be offered in a traditional public school setting, said Jennifer Cava, assistant director of the school.

“She’s able to advance through the curriculum at her own pace,” Cava said. “She can pursue a greater depth of understanding in math.”

The mathematics section of the SAT includes questions on arithmetic operations, algebra, geometry, statistics and probability, according to the College Board. Although she panicked when she didn’t have her calculator, Devasia quickly realized she was able to do the math without it.

She’s taking high school geometry this semester through the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School. She plans on taking algebra 2 next semester, and possibly pre-calculus next year. She is also taking advanced science and English classes, as well as Spanish.

Devasia said Bicentennial principal Kyle Langille played a big role in fostering her math abilities, allowing her to take more advanced work. She also credited her current teacher Diane Ramirez for her help.

Although she likes all types of math, Devasia particularly enjoys number theory. She doesn’t know what she wants to do for a career, but she already knows she wants to study either at Harvard University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Because she got a perfect math score, Devasia was invited to become part of the Julian C. Stanley Study of Exceptional Talent. That’s a membership group comprising invited students who achieve SAT scores of 700 or higher on either math or critical reading before the age of 13. She was 12 when she took the test.

She also qualifies for the program’s residential summer programs, online classes and family academic programs.

The Learning Curve appears Thursdays in The Telegraph. Michael Brindley can be reached at 594-6426 or mbrindley@nashuatelegraph.com.