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The first tool for you is to go by the age guidelines on the class schedule. If the student is new to dance try to get into a class where he/she will be the oldest of the age range. Like a beginning 9 yr old should go into a 7-9 yr class instead of a 9-12 yr class.
Placement is difficult sometimes because students, of course, want to be in the most advanced classes and don't always understand the importance of building a strong foundation so they can fly. It is important that students are placed appropriately for a rewarding learning experience. We don't tend to water down levels in order to be popular because we realize once a student has worked hard enough to get to the higher levels he/she deserves to enjoy a class that is truly advanced and challenging and allowing students that aren't ready slows the pace as you can imagine. If you think about it, wouldn't we love to have all advanced classes? We place students out of care and concern for their growth. As the studio director I preferred that my own daughters not progress to the next level until they were truly prepared as I realize how important the foundation is and their ability to enjoy successes and challenges at each level.
Pre-School through 8 yrs: These classes usually do not have levels because they are grouped so closely by age. If a student really excels beyond his/her age group to the point where they are not challenged they are moved to the next age group but most students progress somewhat with their age at the younger levels.
9-12 yrs: You will see beginning, intermediate and intermediate/advanced levels at this age group because this is where students usually tend to pick Dance as a recreational expressive outlet or as an art form they seriously have a passion to pursue and want to excel through the levels at an accelerated pace. There is a lot of variance at this age group and we feel that it is beneficial for students to be in a group where they are not over their head (that is discouraging) and they are not so far beyond where they get bored.
13 yrs/up: You will notice that there are beginning, intermediate, intermediate/advanced and advanced levels.. We get new students that have found that this is something they want to pursue, they start out in beginning classes but tend to excel very fast if serious due to their maturity and mental capability to absorb more than a younger student. Then it ususally jumps to Intermediate/Advanced and Advanced because many of the students at this age have been dancing all their life or have picked it up a later age and got serious.