A reader's age group is moved from their Progress page, not from Settings, and the reason for each move is written down there. The "Reading" card in Settings shows their current group.
There is no list to pick a new group from. A group moves in one of two ways, and a grown-up decides both times. Nothing moves your child by itself.
Way one: the just-right check
The "Their just-right level" card on the Progress page lets you ask your child to show us how they read. Most readers read a short passage aloud. Readers in Ages 2 to 5, and readers who are not yet reading words on their own, point at pictures that match words instead.
- Go to Readers, choose your child, then open "Progress".
- On "Their just-right level", press "Find their level" (or "Check again" if they have done it before).
- The next time your child opens their home screen, a card there invites them to find their just-right books. Until they do it, you can press "Cancel the check".
- When they have finished, "Needs your attention" on your Home page says their reading check is ready, and the card on the Progress page says what we saw.
- Unless the reading was too short to tell, the card asks whether to move their books to the level it found. If that level points to a different age group, you also see a switch, "Also move them to the ... age group".
- Press "Move their books" to accept, or "Leave it as it is".
If your child leaves the check partway, nothing is recorded about how far they got. The request is cleared too, so press "Find their level" again when they are ready.
When the result is not certain, the card suggests doing the check again in a few weeks before relying on it.
Your child is only asked after you press "Find their level". Before the first check, the card also offers "Do not ask about this", which records that you would rather not.
Your child is never shown a speed, a score or a level. The recording is turned into words and dropped straight away, and neither the audio nor what they said is kept. This is not the same as an assessment a school would carry out.
Way two: the level card
When "Learn what they enjoy" is on (it is on the Safety page, and off unless you turn it on), the Progress page also shows a card called "What level suits them". If your child has finished their last three books at a steady pace and our estimate sits near the top of their group, or if two books were stopped before halfway, the card may offer a button such as "Move to Ages 7 to 9". It moves your child one group at a time.
The month of their birthday, if you gave it in their Settings, is used for one thing: on the first day of that month, this card asks whether their group is still right. The question only appears while learning is on, and it never moves them by itself.
Reading level and phonics explains how this estimate is made.
What changes, and what does not
- Books already made stay exactly as they were written, for the group they were made in.
- New books are written for the new group. Moving from Ages 5 to 7 to Ages 7 to 9 means their next books are chapter books, which use 2 books from your allowance instead of 1, and are not read aloud by a recorded voice unless you ask.
- A series carries on, and each new episode is written for the group your child is in on the day it is made.
- "Words on the page", if left on "Let TaleTykes choose" with learning on, may show the simpler or richer wording of an older book that was written for a different group.
Every move is written down under "Age group moves and reading checks" on the Progress page.
If you chose the wrong group
If you picked the wrong group when you added your child, the just-right check is the way to move them, and it can move them more than one group at once. If your child has not made any books yet, you can also remove the reader and add them again with the right group.
For anything else, ask us from Help in your dashboard.