Newbie,
140 is 'gifted enough' for every pull out program that I've ever heard of, and 'definitly gifted' - There may be a very few self contained gifted programs that use a hard 145, so it is possible, but unlikely.
The fact that they are using so many different measures tells me that they are being very careful to match the program to the child. That's good. It may be that if you son doesn't make the cut off, there are still plenty of excellent ways for the school to match his learning needs. (pull outs, subject accelerations, mentors, etc.)
One way to ponder this, is to just count up the number of kids per grade who are in your school district, and divide by the number of kids per grade in the self contained pull out. Then throw in a fudge factor for 'district average IQ.'
OK - here's a try at some sample math. Assume that the district average IQ is 100, and it's evenly distributed. There are 2000 3rd graders. 40 are selected for the program. That means that they are looking for the top two percent, or 98th percentile. In a program like that, you son is easily in, but might actually hate it, because there is more busy work, and not much more intellectual challenge. Or your son might love it, and find it 'much better' than regular school and be perfectly challenged because the teachers are very savy about individualizing the program for kids. Or your son might love it, but need a full grade skip before he is actually challenged.
Example #2: A district with 20,000 3rd graders, and 20 are selected for the program - same IQ distribution assumptions - That means that they are looking for the top tenth of a percent, or 99.9th percentile. You've only given us a small peek at your son's scores, so it's possible that he would or wouldn't be selected for a program like this - hard to say, but the point is that it's no fun being the 'dumbest' / slowest in a classroom no matter how gifted you are, you tend to judge yourself against the folks you spend your day with: F2F, cyberfriends, or imaginary characters from books, yes?
exceptions to this rule are kids who have gotten used to slacking off, or are sort of dreamy or both, and need a couple of years to adjust to a classroom that expects them to actually put some effort in.
I don't know if this helps (and I sure hope someone checks my Math!) but it was fun to think about!
Love and More Love,
Grinity
