Hello! Your daughter's SRI is definitely high for her age, and would be an SRI that I would expect to see from students who are gifted. However, you can't use SRI results to determine whether or not a child is gifted.
One problem (for every school and every state) is that there is no ONE clear definition of "giftedness." Your school has apparently decided that you're "gifted" if you have a CogAT at the 99th percentile, but you're "not gifted" if your CogAT is at the 98th percentile. The school district right next door may say that any kid with a CogAT above the 95th percentile is "gifted." Schools generally get to make their own rules.
You didn't mention what your daughter's CogAT score ended up being (and you may not know), but I would say a child with a CogAT at the 98th percentile or so could very well have the SRI that you mentioned. Of course, her CogAT could be wrong, too.
Whenever parents ask about private testing, the one thing I always want them to think about is what they will do with the results. If the results of a different IQ test come back and state that her IQ is very high and places her in a category most researchers would accept as "gifted," how will that change things? Some schools don't accept the results of private IQ testing when it comes to placement decisions, so her school placement may not change. It definitely is a lot of money to pay if the ONLY thing that will happen is that your suspicions will or will not be confirmed. I can tell you right now (for free) -- your daughter probably IS gifted. However, make sure you know what your options are when it comes to the results of private testing before you pay for someone else's findings.
Will your school accept students into the GT program in years after the original identification year if they begin to demonstrate a high level of achievement in the "regular" classroom? If so, talk to your child's teacher or the coordinator of gifted programs for your school and see if she can be tested (at school) for possible entrance into the program NEXT year. There may be a way to appeal her into the program.
I hope this helps!
