jaggirl47, I've been in a very similar position when advocating for my EG ds - and he also scored far below his WISC scores on the CogAT. This is what I recommend:
1) You need individual IQ testing - it will give you two very important things. First, it let's *you* know where your ds scores. Second, it gives you a data point that the schools can't really argue. They can tell you the won't use it, but they are not going to tell you they can't "trust" a high score on the WISC.
The school isn't the issue, it is the district that runs the program.
I'd write a letter to the head of the district gifted department requesting a full evaluation (IQ+achievement testing), and cc your school staff (principal and teacher). Requests made in writing have to be answered - the answer might be "no" but the district will at least have to respond.
If the district says "no" - look into whether or not your medical insurance might cover it. Even if they won't, consider that it might be worth paying for an IQ test, through a licensed psychologist that you can trust. It's something that you're going to need to back you up in advocating.
I meet with the "Highly Capable" program director today to fight about this. His teacher already submitted that it will be damaging to my son to stay in regular school next year. Our district has a 5 day a week, full time gifted school.
I hope your meeting will go well! I am sure you're already at the meeting or it's already over, but fwiw - it will be helpful to know absolutely for sure what the path toward admissions into the HG program is in your district. While you know the district uses CogAT + Dibels + teacher recommendation - is that *all* they require? For instance, our district uses CogAT as a screener, so to get past the first hurdle a student has to score above a certain percentile... but that's not the *last* hurdle - the district gifted program then also administers another individual ability test + individual achievement testing. If you found out your district does that too - that might be your "in".
However, after the fight I am in, I am wondering just how truly gifted this school is.
That's a really good question, but I also think there is another question out there that you would benefit from having the answer to - what is your ds' IQ? He's clearly a high achieving child, and clearly would be a good candidate for advanced academics... but is he a high achiever with a profoundly gifted IQ or a high achiever with a moderately gifted IQ? Having that piece of info helps. You may know the answer to that question simply by knowing your ds, but it's not necessarily related to high DIBELS scores or reading comprehension above grade level. AND... to further complicate things, not all school HG/etc programs are designed for the same type of student, or even with the same type of philosophy/curriculum choices etc. You'll have to do your research no matter what
Best wishes,
polarbear
