Hi Fostcry -
Cooper sounds very sweet. I do have some thoughts!
1) Check out Deb Ruf's book and do some "home assesment" first. There are gifted kids who don't show up from her perspective, but if Cooper does fit - well then you know that -
2) any testing you have done should be done by someone with lots and lots of experience with gifted kids.
My son was also a "perfect" student at every placement all along the way - for exactly 4 weeks. After he had absorbed all the new information, we got to see what was really going on!
I think one of the key things is to talk to Cooper about how it is in school. OTOH, It took my son years to have enough insight into himself to look back at kindergarden and say, "Mom, I finally figured out what was going on in kindergarden - I was bored out of my skull!" He couldn't have told me anything more than - I hate it, I want to be with you.
Cooper may be enjoying "studying" the other children from a distance. I would still pull him, because I don't want to encourage this kind of relationship with other people. Did I mention to please get him out of there, if only for a month or two until things get sorted out.
Some of the mom's here have been successful getting the kids placed with older kids. If there is a Montessori style preschool that will use mixed age classrooms that might work.
As to the question of "maturity." I've been asking around, and the scientists doen't use that word in their work at all. Even Susan Assoline of the "Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual" fame (another great book to buy - an investment!) says she didn't put "maturity" into the scale because it's not measurable and doesn't seem to matter.
I would guess that your Cooper isn't immature for his age, although he may be less mature than his intellect-age. Here's why - Imagine yourself in a strange environment, that is too loud and too busy and makes no sense. There are kids around, but you are unable to make contact with them, they seem to have something wrong with them, or you, you aren't sure. Wouldn't you cling to whatever adult you could find? At least they can talk! See where I'm heading with this?
Best wishes -
Trinity
