Our schools do their own testing, and I've heard through the grapevine that they do not accept outside testing when it is submitted as a part of a G&T appeal. The school DOES do a great deal of testing, including MAP testing and ITBS - but none of this is given "out of level" (with the exception of the RIT score on MAP, which is supposed to be independent of grade).
Does your school HAVE a subject acceleration policy? As far as I can tell, our school does not. In this instance, you might be able to suggest looking at the IAS.
We also had our DD take EXPLORE, because of the lack of out-of-level testing.
So if his school is so wedded to their own testing, what out of level testing do they offer? Did they give the ITBS out of level? It sounds like your DS did as well as one can possibly do on that test!
Still, EXPLORE is pretty darn standardized and can be given out of level (did your DS take it through a Talent Search, and I'm assuming it was out-of-level for him?), and IMO, hard to argue it was somehow "influenced."
We used our outside testing as a "supplement" to our DD's in school testing, to try to get a better picture of her abilities (and a better idea of whether she was being appropriately challenged). DD was already in the G&T program, but she still seems underchallenged. Our school DID look at our outside testing (which really doesn't conflict with any of their in-school testing, but instead offers a more comprehensive view), but in terms of actually seeing modifications on a day-to-day basis...it has been slow going. The school loves to differentiate (see earlier thread about how differentiation doesn't work). Long story, but our advocacy efforts are ongoing.
