I too had doubts about whether my child would be sufficiently challenged in the early elementary years. My fears were put to rest when I saw how skillful the kindergarten and first grade teachers were at meeting the educational needs of each child in the class, whether reading years above grade level or struggling to keep up. We also learned to wait for cues from the teacher–and I remember my child’s first grade teacher saying, after the fact, how stressful she found the first month of school each year. Of course, we were also fortunate in a public school classroom with only 22-24 children in those early years, a class size that made it possible for the teacher to meet each child’s needs. I would add, though, that later on it is much more difficult to meet the needs of students in a mixed-ability classroom. I believe strongly that testing for gifted programs should be focused on older students, grades 2 and up. It’s true that some kids are ready for gifted programs earlier–and heaven knows, especially at the district level–need an alternative to zoned schools. But I think the system is not doing justice to the many children who start to shine a little later in their school careers or whose parents, as we did, would rather keep them in general education programs–and close to home–while they’re still very young.