I don't know of any studies that support giving a child work that is too easy in order to develop learning habits. We heard that theory though at many of the schools we looked at, all but two of the Catholic schools.
My dd is 9 and she has looked like she has ADHD many a time. Her pediatrician has been itchin to refer her for medication, but each time it seems like it's definitely an attention and focus issue, it spontaneously resolves with more challenging work. The jury is still out on ours, but exercise and challenging work do wonders to regulate our little one's brain.
What they are telling your DS with keeping him in a lower group? He is hearing that "learning behaviors" are more important than learning. And that he isn't as capable as the kids who are in the higher group--this can lead to him searching for the thing that is wrong with him, trying very hard to "apply" himself unsuccessfully to boring work (especially if he has ADD!), and eventually to not believing he is very smart or trusting himself to be capable.
Unless they can say that he can't learn the material at the higher level because of his inattention, it might be good to at least try it, while you go to your tester and ask about his/her observations and how to proceed.
I love your first sentence, thank you for that. I might be using that one!
I don't see the big deal with just letting him try it out either. My theory is, as long as he isn't disruptive to the other kids which is just not his thing, that I'd rather have him space out in a room where the content is a little higher than space out in a room where the content is too low.
