Gah, what a terrible feeling that must have been. I completely sympathize, both with the "my kid had a chance to prove it and blew it" (when they gave her the Iowa assessment at the start of 2nd) and with the "I paid big money for this test and you won't even bother to look at it?" (several different years in fact).
But I also agree with those saying that this really is a blessing in disguise.
I know what HK means about kids not wanting to be shown off. When DD was tiny I put her on the phone with my mom to demonstrate how well she was talking and she refused to speak out loud again for several months. Just as we were honestly getting worried, she started up again.
