We live about an hour of south of you, in the same county. You can try to find someone and shell out $$$. Gifted Resource Center in Providence, RI (though a hike) is another possible option - http://www.grcne.com/. Clark School (http://www.clarkschool.com/) is re-locating to Rowley and they may be another possible option to contact.

We had testing done both privately and with the public schools. Ds8 is a 2e/pg and had an IEP when long before we had a gifted diagnosis. However, federal law stipulates that IF a parent requests testing for a child, then the school has to administer it (though not sure if you can get it every year). Then, if you un/homeschool, you can also request testing too (though most parents without gifted kids avoid this possibility like the plague).

So you could technically go to the special needs department in your local school district and say that you'd like your child tested because you are concerned about placement and debating about enrolling your child in the public schools or a specific public school. Say this with a poker face whether it's true or not. You'll probably have to put such a request in writing. More significantly, you could specify that the Woodcock Johnson III Academic Achievement be administered to your child. It's entirely feasible that the public school will go along with it; mine did.

I actually got the public schools to administer the WJ-III to my ds when he was 5.5 in kindy - even though he was in a private (gifted) school at the time, were debating about un/homeschooling, and had never intention to send him to the public schools. I also managed to get them to re-administer the test last June too, even though we un/homeschool now. Legally, the public schools had to give the test. They didn't have to administer the WJ-III but I asked very politely and claimed that I was mulling over public school (there's school choice in my city and that helped me).

Unfortunately, though, these types of tests can open more worms than you like and your child may or may not be fully compliant with the person administering the test, the setting, the test, etc. However, IF you go through the public schools, the good news is that you don't have to shell out oodles of $$$. The bad news is that IF you're child (ie. like mine) decides not to show their true face, you're not necessarily going to get accurate scores. BUT that can happen regardless of who you see. Ultimately, you need a series of tests and a portfolio of work over a range of time so you can get an accurate picture.

Another option is that you could always get some testing done (for free or rather cheaply) and then see Dr. Lovecky in Providence or someone else for a second opinion or further testing. There's no hard rules here.

With Haverhill and the public schools, you might want to consider all options (public schools, private schools, and un/homeschooling). I can commiserate.