Hi ultramarina, I am sure other will chime in with more expertise than I have. I do understand how you feel though - when it feels "high stakes," testing can be stressful to parents wink . Still, we need to NOT communicate this stress to our children. One thing someone here said previously that is SO TRUE though, is that one test is only "one snapshot" in time. One test does not define your child! Your child is still the same wonderful, amazing kid that you already know right after the test, as he was before it!

Truly, the best things that you can do are help you child to arrive at the test well rested, after having had a good breakfast. Also, we found this Aimee Yermish article helpful:

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/test_prep.htm

Does the school truly just rely on one test, or do they have a rubric for their program (which includes other testing/assessment)? Do they have an appeals process if things do not go well? I do understand your stress (DD8 was in the same situation at school not long ago), but remind yourself of any "fallbacks" in case things do not go well. A six-year-old can certainly have a bad day, but if the score is an outlier among his other great test scores, perhaps you still have other options.

DD8 actually enjoyed most of the testing. A good tester (and I understand you don't have control here) will try to establish rapport with a child before they start testing. From what DD told me, she had a "good testing" experience at school. Many posters' children here have had similar experiences, so I do not think that you need to worry too much about this.

Wishing you and your DS all the best!