Can the teacher/parent set the level at which the student starts?
Yes. However, keep in mind that if the student does not do as well as they should, the system will automatically bounce them back down to an appropriate level. For example, if you have a student that has not completed book 2 and then you start them at book 3 content and she does not do well, the system will bounce her back to book 2 (or wherever necessary). In the same fashion, if you have a student that is excelling, the student will be bounced ahead. The teacher/parent has control over this as well. If for some reason the system advances your student further than you want, you can manually put the student back.