I don't know that I've ever posted, or not in a long time, but I'm really struggling to understand here.
My just-turned 6yo DD has not been tested, and I struggle with a lot of doubts. That said, she taught herself to read at 22 months (reading books, not just words) and progressed to chapter books by age 3. She not only reads, but comprehends, and we started talking about symbolism and foreshadowing because her retell had gotten to a level I was pleased with (I'm an English major). She read Moby Dick and Animal Farm and I was pleased with her assessments of both; she's in the middle of The Whipping Boy now. Math, she taught herself basic multiplication at 3 and we put her on Khan Academy where she learned multiple digit addition and subtraction with borrowing and carrying within 10 minutes and sets problems for herself all the time. She has a deep curiosity about the world and we have done everything from Punnett squares (in response to queries about genetics after reading a book) to volcanoes at home. She is begging for a frog to dissect because "it feels cruel, but I'm SO CURIOUS". She's (ironically) a vegetarian because she can't stand the thought of meat and has an empathy level through the roof.
A classic gifted kid, right?
Wrong. According to her parent teacher conference. They say she's "very bright", but assessed her at a 9-10 level (I don't know what system, but the books on the list are level 3-10 DRA and include "We Both Read" books and Dick and Jane books that she read when she was less than 2.5). For math, she's "beginning" to understand addition (add one only) and they hope to get her to subtraction after the holidays "but, to be honest, it's abstract and hard and she's nowhere near there."
We had called in the AG teacher before school started and were told she'd be assessed in the first 2 weeks. That never happened and radio silence from the AG teacher since.
Kid comes home in tears over how boring things are. She's not in a reading group (highest in her class) but rather sits at a table teaching the other kids to read. They started her on AR quizzes but they've only done one. They started her on a district gifted project based thing but have only sent home two items since the beginning of the year. They said they would reach across to other classes to find a group for her if necessary...never happened.
But, every time we see the teacher, she RAVES about how brilliant the kid is, and talks about all the accommodations she's making for her. She's been teaching for a really long time and clearly knows her stuff, but I feel like she's just way off. I have no idea how to proceed from here.
AG teacher admitted that outside testing would largely not be taken into consideration. I live in an area where we could force their hand on an IEP but they'd do their own testing; our testing would only make it so they would do their own. Which is clearly not worth the paper it's written on.
I don't know what to do.
