I have four kids and each time I struggled with the right time to have them diagnostically tested. For the 1st, the school district warned that testing him too early (pre-reading) may give low results and that he couldn't be re-tested for 2 years. His kindergarten teacher finally told me what to do and I proceeded. The next kid had the same story except I figured if #1 scored so high and #2 is doing things earlier and faster, he must be even higher IQ. I didn't fret so much with #3 because he was just plain old scary smart. Now I'm again struggling with #4 who is 4 in preschool. I'm confident he's gifted but in order to be in the self-contained class he has to score at least 145. I wonder if being a fluent reader is necessary to do well on the iq test.
Anyway, the reason I'm going on about my reservations about early testing even though I KNOW early identification is so beneficial, is that most moms I know are even more conservative than I am. The district almost always waits until 2nd grade to screen kids (unless one stands out like a sore thumb or their mom is too persistent). I always advise moms to get their kids tested earlier and not wait until 2nd grade, but when is best? 4? 5? 6?
