Hello Andes!
Welcome to the board. You've gotten a lot of great advice already. I'm chiming in because we're in Canada, too, and have just completed the process of getting DD tested. She completed the WISC V and the WIAT III at 6.5 and qualified for placement in an enclosed gifted class. Both tests were administered by a board Psych. We will tour the school that offers the enclosed classes in the spring and have been given the same info as you have - students are not accelerated, rather they explore topics in greater depth.
Having DD tested at 6.5 has worked well for us because she'd been placed in a grade one class with a teacher who is familiar with inquiry based learning. DD is still following the grade one curriculum but she is allowed to initiate and work on her own related projects. The teacher also assessed her reading at the beginning of the year and she is allowed to read chapter books/bring her own books to school. DD is beyond the grade one curriculum but we were okay with waiting because they are/were actively trying to accommodate her.(It's not been perfect, we've had our issues, with reading particularly, but I do see them trying)
If DD had shown any signs of anxiety, or had said she didn't enjoy going to school I would have pushed for testing earlier.
Does your board require any other type of documentation for identification? Our testing was administered by the school board but before that DD did the CCAT and her kindergarten teacher had to complete a gifted rating scale. If they are required by your board it could delay receiving a formal ID. However, I'm not sure if they are needed if testing is done privately.
Good luck with your decision.
Thank you very much for weighing in! I can definitely see some benefits in trying out a mainstream class before determining whether something different is needed. Unfortunately for us, we aren't in the public system now, so when DS transitions in first grade, I'm really hoping to have him in the right placement from the beginning to minimize transitions. To add to that, we are seeing issues with frustration/boredom in his very relaxed, half day, differentiated program now, so I do think the right setting will be important for him.
I'm pretty sure our board (Halton) requires only the WISC or WPPSI test, but that's a good issue for me to double check. From what I understand, the additional screens are for within the system to minimize spending on full cognitive testing. Based on everything I've read so far, I think we are going to hold out to test with the WISC at age 6. I'd like us to have the most current info available before making a school choice.
Thanks again!
