May I be the first to welcome you to May?
It’s official! April showers stepped aside for May flowers, and Spring has sprung! I’m fairly certain that for you all, and for your students, this also means Spring Fever has arrived. Whether yours comes in the form of allergies 🤧 or motivational difficulties🫣, I have the cure:
A chance to get your hands on some Next Gen Math swag!
And all you have to do is tell us what you love about Next Gen Math! Read on for more information. And try to resist scrolling past all the amazing updates on your way.
For this month, we’ve lined up some new features, important reminders, and yes, some offers!
Platform Enhancements
50 new stems!
K-5: 2
6-8: 16
9-12: 32
30 new instructional videos (coming very soon!)
New Feature
Highlighter in the Drawing Tool
Want Swag?
News & Reminders
Usage Review and Planning Meetings
Read on for the details.⬇️
New Features
Highlighter in the Drawing Tool 
Did you know that a highlighter is included for student use on the SBAC and other online assessments? This digital tool is universal, meaning all students taking the assessment can use it.
Now, all Next Gen Math students–whether they are in testing grade levels or not–have access to this tool (and ours comes in some very spring-like colors!).
The highlighter can be found in the Drawing Tool, so make sure to have that option turned on in your assignment settings!
Consider encouraging students to use the highlighter to identify:
- Academic vocabulary
- Words or phrases that signal how to solve the problem (“in all,” “fewer,” etc.)
- Keywords that clarify how to respond (“select all that apply,” etc.)
- Important information or places where they have a question
This feature really highlights Next Gen Math’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the platform regularly.
Next Gen Math Merch
Tell Us Your Thoughts, Get Some Stickers (& a Gift Card!)
We want to hear from you—and yes, there are rewards involved. The first four people to respond will get a Next Gen Math Swag Bag and a gift card. (We’re talking stickers, pens, the whole cannoli*.)
What are we looking for? The good stuff:
- How are you using NGM in your classroom, school, or district?
- What’s working really well?
- Any standout success stories?
- Has it saved you time (or sanity 👀)?
- Any best practices, tips and tricks, or all-around great ideas for using NGM?
If you’ve got something to share, we want to hear it.
Just fill out this form, and keep an eye on your mailbox—we’ll take it from there.
*Sorry, no actual cannolis. They’re messy to mail.
News and 
Reminders
Summer Data Rollover: Download Your Data by June 30
What you need to know 🧠:
To help you prepare for the upcoming school year, assignment data from the 2025-2026 academic year will be archived to keep your account organized and up to date. This only affects Assignment Data. Any other content you've created will remain available next school year.
🚨 This means that you will not be able to access assignment results after this date. 🚨
What you need to do 🏃🏾♀️:
If there is Assignment Data that you’d like to keep and/or upload to a third-party gradebook, please be sure to export that data before June 30.
How do I export the data that I'd like to keep?
See this tutorial video and article to learn how to export any assignment data you would like to be able to access after the end of the school year.
As always, contact us with any questions!
Secure Browser
Back in March, we let you know about our optional Secure Browser, which allows you to restrict student access to other browsers, windows, and applications while in a Next Gen assignment. The option to turn on the secure browser can now be found in your assignment settings page.
This feature must be enabled and downloaded onto student devices before it can be used. Once this is complete, you can decide whether you want each assignment to be opened in the secure browser or not. Email us with any questions!
Learn More: Using the Secure Browser
What’s the Big Idea(s)?
Waaay back in January (Remember January? We were so young and fresh…), we released an optional Standards Builder view based on the Big Ideas framework organization. We wanted to bring it back to your attention as you start thinking about wrapping up this year and preparing for next.
The Standards Builder can now be viewed by Domain or by Big Ideas. The Big Ideas view aligns with the updated California Mathematics Framework as well as with many of the newer options for core math curriculum.
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.
Interested in Big Ideas? Contact Emilee Powell at emilee@nextgenmath.com.
Learn more: Big Ideas in the Standards Builder
For Admin: Sign Up for Your Usage & Planning Meeting
A great way to battle spring fever is to plan for fall! (I made that up, but I think it works!)
To that end, schedule your usage review and planning meeting today to prepare for a strong 2026-2027 school year!
We’ll discuss this year’s successes and plan for next year’s professional learning and support needs.
Click here to schedule your meeting!
Good luck battling that spring fever, and May the 4th be with you always.
Written by Sarah Stickle sarah@nextgenmath.com 5/7/2026