February: When Spring Tries to Spring 
Don’t put those fuzzy socks away yet, fellow educators! The ill-fated deliverer of bad news, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow. But six more weeks of winter🥶means six more weeks of tea, hot cocoa, and - of course- fuzzy socks.
The real bright side? Next Gen Math is packed with new features and long-awaited improvements. If spring is about renewal, we’re right on time. 🌱
Platform Enhancements
14 High School Instructional Videos (English)
14 High School Instructional Videos (Spanish)
New Features & Offerings:
Big Ideas in the Standards Builder
District and School Site Admin Dashboards
NGM Professional Development Opportunities
Read on for the details.⬇️
Platform Enhancements
Small Changes, Big Impacts
Flashy new features are fun, but sometimes it’s the small changes that make the biggest difference. Here are a few recent ones.
Set limits on the number of times students can check their answers
Teachers tell us that they love giving students the option to check their answers before submitting–especially for practice. Now you can set how many times a student can check and revise their responses – no more guessing until they land on the correct multiple choice answer.
You can find this option in the Assignment Settings page, under “Assignment Criteria.” Toggle the option to “On” and set the number of tries you’d like:
Reconfigured Progression Playlist
Our Progression Playlist allows you to find standards that stem from previous standards or lead to subsequent ones. These coherence mapping assignments can help identify and fill learning gaps. They also allow already-proficient students to explore next steps. And because this tool works for every standard, these opportunities support what you are currently learning in class!
For this tool, we’ve updated the “look and feel,” and also made it easier to find! In addition, teachers can now decide how far back (or forward!) you want to go.
This change supports current instruction while also opening pathways for review or extension.
New Features
Big Ideas in the Standards Builder (California Only)
We are excited to share our most recent enhancement: A “Big Ideas” option in Standards Builder.
ℹ️ First, some background:
In July 2023, the California Mathematics Framework was updated to include guidance on how the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics can be organized and implemented around instructional themes called Big Ideas. The standards themselves didn’t change — but the framework introduced an additional way of grouping them, centered on mathematical themes rather than on individual domains.
See this article for more information.
❓What does this mean for the platform?
For our California partners, Next Gen Math now includes a Big Ideas view alongside the original Domains view in the Standards Builder.
When Big Ideas is selected, the Standards Builder organizes standards by overarching concepts, with related domains and standards grouped together. This allows you to see how content connects across domains — while still keeping the original structure fully intact and accessible.
Note: The “Big Ideas” view is turned off until a district is ready to use it. To discuss the feature further, please contact Dr. Michael Williams or Emilee Powell.
🧠Learn More: How to Use Big Ideas in the Standards Builder
Mixed Fluency Assignments
Another big change to the platform this month is Mixed Fluency, which allows you more flexibility and three new combined assignment types:
➡️Create assignments in Procedural Fluency that combine fluencies.
For example, this assignment includes addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
➡️Create assignments that include more than one skill category.
For example, the assignment below includes adding and subtracting decimals, whole numbers, fractions, and mixed numbers.
➡️Create assignments that include questions from Procedural Fluency and Standards Builder
For example, the assignment below includes Procedural Fluency questions followed by related Standards Builder questions.
🧠Learn More: Creating Procedural Fluency Assignments
Administrator Dashboards
District and school site administrators may have noticed a new landing page when logging on to the platform.
From this new dashboard, administrators have instant, live access to a wide variety of data about Next Gen Math use at their district and/or school.
Different charts and graphs provide data for things like:
Stems assigned by grade level
Average student minutes on the platform
Assignments by school or teacher
Tier 2, 3, and retake assignments
Progress by domain and standard
🧠Learn more:
District Administrator Dashboards
School Administrator Dashboards
Next Gen Math Offerings
Open PD Sessions
We still have two of our popular Open PD sessions open for registration! Teachers and administrators from any school using Next Gen Math are encouraged to join these free, hands-on sessions for a refresher and a chance to work with our expert trainers on anything Next Gen Math.
Upcoming Dates:
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 — 3:00-4:00 PM
Thursday, March 12, 2026 — 3:15–4:15 PM
Learn more and Register here!
Countdown to CAASPP/SBAC Success: Complimentary Virtual PD
Let us support your SBAC prep and help you maximize student growth this year!
These free, hands-on sessions are a great refresher and an opportunity to work directly with our expert trainers—whether you’re brand new to NGM or looking to sharpen your workflow.
What you’ll gain:
Clear guidance on what SBAC actually assesses and how to align your instruction
Quick ways to check student readiness and pinpoint exactly where support is needed
Flexible whole-class, small-group, and individual review activities
Tips to familiarize students with SBAC-style questions, digital tools, and accommodations
Learn more and pick your PD date here!