Sorry to be a devil's advocate but after watching my two friends' kids as well as other advanced kids in dd's class, I wonder how a teacher who must only encounter a hg+ child once in a long time (if at all), would be able to distinguish a bright well prepared kid from a gifted kid. Especially during primary years and especially when the gifted kid has no interest in showing off their skills. I suspect the writer of the original article on this post has similar experience. He must come across at least a couple of well prepared kids with pushy parents every year, every class so when the parent with the real deal comes along, it is but natural to believe that he has just one more of the same.
My son is in a school district with a large number of gifted kids, and 'hot house' kids. He was in a pullout class for the gifted & highly motivated kids for 3 years in older elementary. While some of the kids kids are both gifted and highly motivated, the non-gifted but extremely motivated were obviously different from the 'gifted' kids. For example my son didn't get the best grades in class but every teacher told me that it was obvious to them he was gifted and needed the rigor & challenge the class provided. I still get comments (he is a freshman in H.S.) from other parents that the other kids are very impressed with his math & analytical skills.
