I think, the way the curricula is constructed, that you ought to consider doing the reading test for Upper School at www.connectthethoughts.com . From the home page, push the button (link) to Upper School and look at the column to the right, you'll see the test there. Have your student, age 11 and up, do that test. [webmaster: click Upper School Reading Test. ] Similarly, usually for ages 9-10, if you go to the Lower School page instead of the Upper School page, in the right column you'll find the reading test for Lower School. [webmaster: click Lower School Reading Test. ] Instructions are there. These are sample lessons which, when done by the student, will tell you if they're reading ability is up to the challenges of that level. This is a useful tool for someone with multiple children trying to make the decision you are! It only takes two hours or so, tops. It may be that your 8 year old is ready for Lower School, but would certainly not do Upper School. Your 10 year old could do Lower with your 8. Or, if the 10 year old is quite literate, the 10 year old would do Upper School with your 12. Or if your 12 year old is not up to the reading demands of Upper School, they MAY all do Lower. But you don't want to slow one student down by putting the 12 year old in Lower! And you don't want to place undue stress on the 8 year old if their reading level may place them in Elementary 1st Step curricula, which is possible and even likely.

The levels of curricula are based on literacy.

1st Step Starter is for young students (ages 5-6) and Pre-Literate, meaning they read little or not at all. The teacher does most of the reading on this level.

1st Step Elementary is for students who have some reading skills, usually ages 7-8. They do a lot of reading aloud to the teacher, and the courses carefully build vocabulary as they work, and are cumulative (build on each other) in vocabulary.

Connect The Thoughts Lower School is usually for students ages 9-10, and the student must read well for the age. Some older students have done Lower School because that's where the tests placed them, and that's totally fine. Some younger children have started Starter (say eight year olds) and done well with it.

Connect The Thoughts Upper School is a lot of reading, some of it at college level (Upper School History). You have to be ready for it. It's also a lot of writing for the student.

The levels are really different from each other in terms of depth on information offered and challenge to literacy. I would not bunch students up into a level unless their reading and writing skills truly dictated that as the correct solution.

Hope this is helpful!