We did this. I suggest you look to see if their gifted program is a pull-out enrichment or if they have all the gifted kids together for class. For example, the first district we were in had a pull-out enrichment program where the gifted kids went for 2/12 hours a week in 3rd grade. Where we moved, the kids were grouped with a gifted teacher for math for 90 minutes and a gifted teacher for Enligh/Social Studies for 2/12 hours, every day. Kids could qualify for one or the other or both. The math did two years of math per grade level so that the kids are ready for Algebra I in 7th grade. Only one of the disticts we looked at started full-time gifted programming in kindergarten - the rest didn't start until 3rd grade (but since we were already in 3rd at a private school, it didn't matter). Here, in Texas, though they have to be identified in Kindergarten whereas in some places the identification doesn't happen until 3rd grade.
The enrichment in the first district was a study of China one year, ancient Greece one year, the Civil War, etc. I think by 6th grade they were up to 4 hours a week of "enrichment", when the gifted teacher wasn't pulled off her classes to do testing or substituting or bus duty or whatever.
Also, look at the testing that the district does to identify gifted kids. One district we looked at took kids at the 90th percentile and above. Our current district takes kids at the 97th percentile and above. There's a big difference.
Make sure that the gifted program starts in elementary school. We looked at a lot of places where the program was excellent but didn't start until middle school (7th grade). I'd also ask about what happens if you want to take a break from gifted programming. Do you have to requalify to get back in? Or can you take a furlough and move in and out of the program without having to requalify? Our district does the latter, which helped us last year in 6th grade when there was concern that my son was not mature enough to do the gifted reading. So, we took a break from it and moved him back in this year. (Turns out that was a mistake, but we had the option without the pressure of taking another test to qualify.)
I don't know what to recommend as far as tests go. Our first district narrowed the field with the CoGat and then followed up with the ITBS. I've read that the CoGat isn't a good identifier and that the ITBS is only good if it is out of level, but I don't know for sure. For our new district, we used outside testing so he hasn't been tested by the school.
Visit the schools and observe the classrooms. Are they kids sitting down and "listening" or are they up and interactive? Is there an atmosphere of discipline with flexibilty or is it rigid and structured. Many gifted kids need to be able to stand up while they do math or sit on the floor and read (even in middle school, our gifted English teacher has bean bags in her classroom where the kids can read).
Talk to the superintendent to see how on board he/she is with supporting a gifted program. I did this and one waved off the question. One told me in detail how he has two daughters, a neice, and a nephew in the gifted program. That told me a lot - that he was invested in it, he believed in giftedness, and he would support it. If you get "all children are gifted", say thank you and run.
Hope some of that helps. It is a hard decision but can make a real difference.
