I'm curious. I grew up dirt poor, severe poverty, etc, and still got into gifted programs with no problem when I was a kid. Have things changed so drastically in the time since (let's say a decade or two)? On another note: my time in public schools was challenging, exciting, interesting, never felt stifled, because of the gifted programs. Once I got put into private schools, everything changed: no more gifted programs, stuck with students I was light years beyond, bored out of my mind, never challenged. edit: for more background info--the public schools I went to were in the worst part of the county, nearly the entire population was on welfare, from broken homes, gang violence, and so forth.
My guess is that there are anomalies but that the aggregate data is clear. I also went to both public and private school. I went to a highly regarded public school system. Whe I went to private school in eighth grade I was WAY behind. Smaller classrooms, more dedicated students etc. Even the "bad kids," we're smart.
I'm a fan of the the multiple intelligences school of thought, that test scores aren't everything, and everyone has things they're good at, as well as things they're not so good at. You can't judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. I have no doubt about your intelligence. =)Even the "bad kids," we're smart.