We just received my son's RIAS scores and I am not sure what all of this means. My friend, whose older child is also gifted, says I should be enrolling him in our local gifted school. Right now he is very happy (and we are too) at his Magnet School for Digital Learning. He is 6 years old and in 1st grade. She says he may be happy now but by 3Rd grade he is going to be bored and it would be better to move him now. Is she right? His scores are
Verbal Index 144
Guess What 74
Verbal Reasoning 75
Nonverbal Index 146
Odd Item Out 78
What's Missing 71
Composite Intelligence Index 154

The letter says he is in the very superior range and he is at the 99th percentile rank. He will attend a gifted class for a couple of hours one day a week.

Thank you for any and all help!

Welcome!

He has very good scores, which is excellent. Whether that means he would be better off in a gifted school is very much an individual decision. You will find that families have different experiences, and that what appears to be best now may not be best next year, or five years down the road. That goes equally for staying in his magnet school, transferring to the gifted school, home schooling, virtual schooling, or any other combination of schooling options. I think when others chime in, it will become apparent that this is very much a year by year decision-making process (or even more than once a year), and unique for each child, even those in the same family.

Observe your child, and what seems to keep him happiest, and growing in all dimensions, at this moment, for the next half-year, year, etc. It may or may not be the same as what any other person's child needed.

AEH is spot on. My thoughts are if your son is getting what he needs at this moment at his current school, just go with it. If you don't think so, its best to figure out why. Can the school do more with the resources available? Do they feel they should do more for your child? Can you supplement after school? Transitions are hard for kids and the emotional/social part of "schooling" is just as important (imo)so I recommend taking that into consideration. Also, some gifted schools focus too much on making parents happy ("my child goes to a gifted school") rather than focusing on what the child needs educationally. Is your child high achieving or does he do simply what is required? Is he motivated by grades or a drive to learn more? If you do consider the gifted school as your friend suggested, find out more about the type of instruction they provide. How much homework is required? Is there differentiation within grade or do they support acceleration if necessary? Does your son do better in some subjects than others?
These are all questions I wished I had known to consider when we found out that our twins were gifted. The folks on this board have been amazingly helpful with guidance along this crazy journey. Best wishes