A five-year-old beginning reader and a high-school student should not encounter the same amount of text, the same number of decisions, or the same explanation density.
Sign First now expresses four targets: visual-first ages 5–7, guided ages 8–10, independent ages 11–13, and advanced ages 14+. The selected band changes presentation and answer readability.
It must not change the underlying academic intent, quietly infer cognitive ability, or remove the right to reject what the system proposes.
These modes make the design claim testable. They do not make it true for children until Deaf-led, age-specific evaluation measures comprehension, control, fatigue, and outcomes.