Thank you for all of the support and feedback,it has given me a lot to consider and I appreciate the input. I can relate to the stories shared and that is reassuring.
Regarding PTC not being the time or place, I agree. I have also met with the teachers outside of PTC and the response does not vary. I did speak to the principal once (awhile ago) and got much the same response. I do need to speak to the principal again but I want to make sure that I have all of my information in hand. They seem to not take parent observation as reputable authority and when they look at her NWEA score they tell me she is smart and does well, but remind me it is just an achievement score and not an indicator of actual intelligence.
I am moving forward with the testing. It is the first time I feel really confident in a decision that I am making regarding her education. Intuitively I know that this step is necessary right now. I am not worried about her taking the actual test as she loves taking the tests at school (she thinks they are fun) and only has anxiety afterwards (over how she thinks she did on them) which I reassure her that I am happy as long as she gave it her best effort.
The curriculum at her school is very competitive to other schools I have researched, but there does not seem to be room for exception. I would like to be able to explore all of my options and find out what is available for her and I guess I simply feel I can't honestly do this without figuring out where she falls on the spectrum first.
As far as what she is actually capable of doing right now, it is difficult for me to say since she is locked into the same curriculum as every other 3rd grader in her school. Her reading level is high, she can read long chapter books (like Harry Potter) and comprehend them. They are currently learning multiplication/division in class and she can do her math facts quickly and accurately. She loves geometry and measurements. We are working on fractions at home, as well as reviewing multiplication/division. She loves story problems/logic problems. I purchased a math workbook that is 3rd grade math for the gifted student and the night I first gave it to her she couldn't stop working on it, she did 20 pages in one night and loved it. Her writing and language usage is very good (probably her strong point). I have read through a lot of the posts on this board and bookmarked many helpful resource pages to worksheets or videos or math blogs. She enjoys extra stuff like that and it helps fulfill a math requirement for school (doing extra math at home).
