Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Help! State testing?

Hello,
I would be really grateful for any suggestions on how to approach the following:
DS8 is currently in a Charter School (3rd grade).
If she were in a public school, she could have taken coGAT and ITBS, had a chance to qualify as having a "very special need" and hence a chance to attend the local gifted school from 4th grade.
The Charter school doesn't administer these tests.
What are my options? Can I request these tests be administered by the county although we are not part of their school system?
Has anybody encountered this/similar situations?
Thanks for any help ! (I could get her tested outside but I want to have that done when she is ready -not push her for this).

Shaangi,
I suspect that the answer to your questions depends on where you live. Some thoughts off the top of my head would be to talk to the local gifted school and find out how they handle transfers from out of the district that might not have these test scores. You can also check with the public school district to see if you have any rights to request the testingthrough them. A third possibility might be to contact your local homeschooling organization to see if these are tests that they administer to show adaquate yearly progress.

If I might ask, what is holding you back from the private testing?

In FL the charter schools are considered part of the public school system. But even students at private schools are able to be tested by the school district.
My suggestion is to start by talking to the principal at the charter school. Find out their version of the facts. Then talk to the gifted coordinator or ESE coordinator at the school district. I'm sure they have a process for kids in other schools within the district.

Our state has a mandate to identify gifted students--so even charter schools have to do it (at their expense). If you can't get them or the public school district to do it, maybe pay for it privately? I wonder if Prometric Testing Centers (where SCAT is administered) do those tests. Or a diagnostician.

Thanks folks for replies-much appreciated.
I will get in touch with county GT coordinator and see what he/she has to say!