Two of my three took the EXPLORE test in 3rd grade. Both have summer birthdays (one late July, the other late August). We never used it to consider if they needed more of a challenge - they were both in private school when they took it, so no gifted program (but there are quite a few kids in that school that are very bright/gifted).
It was interesting to see the results. None of mine are PG. My youngest has not been tested for "giftedness", but she scored a bit higher on EXPLORE than my eldest did (and she has been IDed). My youngest's scores would identify her as gifted in every subject area in Ohio (they accept EXPLORE testing for IDing gifted), and her math score was DYS level.
We haven't really done anything with the scores. Doesn't matter for eldest now as she is in college, but haven't mentioned it to DD9's teacher (DD9 now in public school). We had a conference with DD9's teacher and she recognizes that the kid is bright - but the school won't do anything with outside testing. That and there are truly a lot of bright kids in this district. Elementary school isn't a challenge for most kids, but the district does have some good options for kids when they get to HS.
