Also, I'm discouraged to hear other parents talking about our school's gifted program. It's a pull-out once per week and revolves around independent study only. Adaptations to the child's IEP (i.e., provision of more challenging work in core subjects) really doesn't happen unless parents make a big, BIG fuss!!
Many children in our school have been tested year after year for the gifted program. It happens often that on the 3rd or 4th try, they are finally called "gifted." Also, I've come across 4-5 moms whose kids have been admitted to the gifted program, only to be told a year later (after a re-assessment at the school's request) that the child no longer qualifies for gifted instruction!!! This whole process is so strange to me! When I was a kid, an evaluation stood for several years!
Sorry to hear about the frustrations. I was curious if the observations about reassessments are things you've heard from other parents? Even folks I know well and basically trust have a tendency to fill in gaps in info with colorful hyperbole, so you might need to take some of this with a grain of salt.
I also recently had a conversation with someone poo-pooing (or however you spell that) the gifted elem. program which about 4 weeks earlier she had been in a rage to get her child into. I think she is now decided to wait until middle school to request retesting even though she sees some issues with how the testing was done for her daughter. She said she is waiting "until it really matters". So, again, have to take some of this stuff from other parents with large shakers of salt, and some actual info from the schools, if they are communicating.
Oddly, my son is in a similar state score wise to her dd, but I know the improvement he's already shown in the 3rd grade program, so I am not going to wait to get more info/tesitng for him, but that is just my ds/my perspective.
The gifted program would probably be only part of a solution for your ds, but it still might be very very helpful in getting him through the school week, boosting confidence, if that is an issue, etc.
