Students of any age may enter AIM at any level. Teachers will want to evaluate individual students for the appropriate level each year. While the program is progressive, it is not expected that a student complete all levels. Generally, choose a level based on theory competency first, especially when working with a transfer student. A quick check of a student’s sight reading as well as a sample test from the AIM Syllabus should give a teacher a sense of the appropriate level. If a student understands at least half of the material in a sample test, then with a reasonable amount of instructional time, that student should be able to adequately prepare for the exam. It is better to start at a lower level rather than one that is too high. A student with Level 2 theory skills but Level 5 performance skills should be placed in Level 2 but could be playing Level 5 repertoire, as it is always permissible to pick repertoire from higher levels. Students may skip levels, but it is the responsibility of the teacher to teach all of the skills covered at any skipped levels as the AIM program is cumulative. If a student begins in Level 5, then that student is expected to have mastery of all previous levels as well.