think you have the data you need to put him into first (his current teacher's recommendation). I'd most likely not test him at this point unless you need to per your school district's requirements if they have an early admissions policy. The reason I'd not test now - he's still very young, and in another year ability test scores will be more stable (less prone to being lower than true ability) and I think you'll know more in another year or so what his abilities are and whether or not you need abiiity testing. This is jmo, so take it for what it's worth (not much!!!), but I suspect that quite a few high-average through gifted kids would be ready for first grade at his age and with his background in preschool - so it's true, you might not know yet what level of ability you're dealing with, but you do know he's ready to handle the academics, and if his teacher thinks so, also the not-so-academic aspects of first grade (less play than kindy or whatever it's like in your district). What I think what you'll see happen if you put him in first grade is that as he is given new and more challenging work, you'll get a better idea of his abilities - if he's highly gifted, chances are he'll still be either asking for or ready for more challenge. Just skipping a grade doesn't necessarily provide a higher level of pace or more in-depth challenge which is what many highly-gifted kids need and crave... so if he's HG+, just skipping might not be enough. OTOH, you really don't seem to have anything to lose if you put him in first next year, no matter what his ability level is (exactly - you do know from his teacher this year that he's capable and ready).
Best wishes,
polarbear
ps - Have you found out what you school district policy is for early entry? You can probably find it online, and your ds' preschool teacher *might* also know what it is.
