That's a good point; to get early entrance into K, he must have test results available around August 15, and then would be admitted or not around August 30. (Ridiculous timing, IMO, since I'd already have had to enroll him in and pay tuition for a preschool just in case he didn't make it in, which is costly and, when he's pulled out, inconvenient for everybody.)
This means he'd have to take a bunch of tests by early August, because they want formal testing in 5 areas (cognitive, social, fine and gross motor, and something else I can't recall... but, very lengthy AND costly!) and he has to produce scores equal to an average 5 1/2 year old or better--so, basically, he can't get into K without coming in middle of his class to begin with.
I am actually touring a Montessori tomorrow. I have to admit, he was in a Montessori for about 2 months early last year, and it didn't work out well at all. But, that was the 2 months directly before his father and I separated so there was a lot of external stress. And it was an immersion preschool and almost all the other kids were being raised by parents from another culture, so it's hard to tell if Montessori didn't work well for him, or just that school.
Will you be expected to provide the testing independently since he's not yet a student? Or will they be testing? That sounds like more than just an IQ test. It sounds like a full educational psychologist eval, which for us cost four times the base average IQ testing in this area. Unfortunately, we all know how slow some school systems are to test, so even if he were admitted and you asked for testing it may not change anything for him for months. You may also inquire as to how advanced for a grade skip he must be. Here there is not early K admission as far as I know, and for a one-year grade skip consideration the child must show to be 2 years advanced in achievement (not necessarily IQ I think).
You may also consider timing of testing/K/preschool. There's no law that children have to start preschool/K at specific times. Could you enroll him in preschool, get testing, and then switch to K later on? Our district allows advancement at any time of the year, not just fall. And at that age, though it's not ideal to start K at a later time than the rest of the kids, if he's academically advanced and does well in a school-type setting already, he will likely adjust very well. A lot of kids that age have seen friends come and go from preschool/daycare/etc and love new playmates.
As for Montessori, they are all independent and there's a ton of variation amongst them all. You may have better luck with a different school, though the freedom they allow to explore may not suit his personality. To each his own. I would be inclined to think that an immersion (in a different language from home?) preschool would be awesome, but also quite a time adjustment. I admit I have no experience to offer though on that regard.
I must amend my prior post to include a thought. My DS was not academically ready when he started K. It sounds like this will not be an issue at all and in your shoes, with early advancement only a short time from the K cutoff, I think it may be beneficial to seek either early K or skip to first grade. Skipping K would give a benefit of having "preschool" time to mature so the seat work may not be so burdensome, as long as academics are progressing quickly in whatever preschool suits him well. JMO
