This article focuses on frequently asked questions (FAQs) about DreamBox Math Assignments.
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Looking for directions to create an assignment?
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How Many Assignments Can a Student Work On?
| Q: How many assignments can a student receive? |
A: A student can receive up to two assignments at once. The two assignments can be any combination of Short-Term Assignments and Long-Term Assignments. A new assignment cannot be added until one of the existing two assignments is ended or canceled.
| If a student is enrolled in two DreamBox Math classrooms, the student can still only work on two open assignments at the same time. |
| Q: How many assignments can teachers create at the same time? Is there a limit? |
A: Students can have up to two active assignments at one time. If a student has been assigned two assignments, their name is grayed out and their teacher cannot assign any additional assignments to that student. When the student completes at least one of their two active assignments, the teacher can assign another short or long-term assignment to the student.
| Q: Why can students have only two active assignments at the same time? |
A: Students see multiple lesson options in the Adventure Park (K-2) and the My Lessons page (3+). Limiting students to two active assignments keeps learning focused while still giving students choice in how they learn. This balance allows the adaptive engine to continue recommending lessons based on each student’s unique needs, while also honoring teacher-assigned priorities.
| Q: What if my student has multiple teachers or is in more than one classroom? |
A: If a student has more than one teacher with access to their account, all of their teachers can create or cancel assignments for the student. If the student is in more than one classroom, you will see an option to select which classroom the assignment should be tracked under when creating the lesson. You can also see the name of the teacher who created the assignment.
| Q: When I create an assignment, why doesn’t DreamBox Math hide all other lesson recommendations? |
A: The Assignments function honors student agency by continuing to present other concepts for the student to complete. Just as a student can choose not to complete homework, a student can choose to not complete a DreamBox assignment. This is critical to building strong decision-making principles for the student. They need to make the best choice, based on the information they have.
Assignments Timing
| Q: How long do students have to complete their assignments? |
A: You will set the duration of the assignment when it is created. Short-Term Assignments can be set for one to two weeks. Long-Term Assignments can be set for two to ten weeks.
| Q: Why did a Long-Term Assignment end early? |
A: A Long-Term Assignment will end before the due date if:
- The student became proficient in the standard(s) assigned.
- The assignment was canceled by a teacher or administrator.
- The student completed three of the earliest lessons in the standard with no demonstrated understanding.
Standards and Placement
| Q: As a teacher, do I need to create an assignment for my students in order for them to start DreamBox Math? |
A: No. If your district has enabled Launchpad, the first task students will need to do after they sign in for the first time is to click the image of the rocket in the middle of their screen and complete the Launchpad assessment. If your students do not need to complete Launchpad, all they need to do is sign in, follow any directions or watch the introductory video, and select a lesson or learning path.
| Q: How do assignments affect student placement within the curriculum? |
A: The results of the assignments will be recorded in the student’s account and any relevant progress the student makes will be displayed on the DreamBox Math educator dashboard, but assignments will not affect the student’s placement otherwise. This means you can safely use DreamBox Math Assignments to introduce new concepts or review old concepts without affecting their curricular placement.
| Q: Can I assign a standard that a student has not yet begun? How about one they have already completed? |
A: Yes, you can make assignments for students who have yet to encounter the standard. You can create a Short-Term Assignment for a student who has already completed the standard for review, but you cannot assign a Long-Term Assignment to a student who has already completed the standard.
| Q: Can I assign standards from higher or lower grades? |
A: Yes. When you create an assignment, you can select a grade before choosing a standard. Depending on the needs of your students you can select a higher or lower grade than their enrolled grade level. Students will see any assignment you give them, regardless of their learning environment.
Issues When Creating Assignments
| Q: Why can’t I create an assignment for a particular student? |
A: You will be unable to create an assignment for a student if one of the following is true:
- The student already has two assignments, as indicated by two blue icons next to their name.
- The student already has an In Progress or Not Started assignment for this standard. Once the assignment is completed, you can reassign it.
| Q: Why is my student's name grayed out? |
A: The student already has two open assignments in DreamBox Math. Each student can only work on two open assignments at a time. If you did not create assignments for the student and they are enrolled in two DreamBox Math classrooms, they are likely working on assignments created by their other teacher.
| If a student is enrolled in two DreamBox Math classrooms, the student can still only work on two open assignments at the same time. |
How do Students Identify Assignments?
| Q: How will students identify their assigned lessons after they sign in? |
A: In each learning environment, assigned lessons are highlighted by a calendar icon. The type of calendar indicates how much time students have to complete the assignment.
| Short-Term Assignment | Long-Term Assignment |
K-2nd Grade Learning Environment
In the K-2nd grade learning environment, assigned lessons show a short or long-term assignment icon. Students will see the assignment icons in all Adventure Park themes.
(Click image to enlarge it)
| Students playing in the grades K-2 learning environment will need to select a theme and story before they can see the blue calendar icon. |
3rd-5th Grade Learning Environment
In the 3rd-5th grade learning environment, assigned lessons show a short or long-term assignment icon.
(Click image to enlarge it)
| Students playing in the grades 3-5 learning environment may need to complete an existing lesson before the new lesson appears on their My Lessons Page. |
6-8th Grade Learning Environment
In the 6th-8th grade learning environment, assigned lessons appear above the DreamBox Math recommended lessons.
(Click image to enlarge it)
When students have one week or less to complete an assignment, the label on the assigned lesson updates.
- Due Date: When an assignment is due within one week, the "Assigned" label will be replaced with a label showing the exact due date (e.g. Due Wednesday).
- Time Remaining: When an assignment is due in less than 24 hours, the label will display the remaining time in hours (e.g. Due in 7 hours).
- Due Now: When an assignment is due in less than 1 hour, the label will update to read Due Now.
| Students playing in the grades 6-8 learning environment may need to complete an existing lesson before the new lesson appears on their My Lessons Page. |
| Q: Why can't my students see the assignment I created? |
A: Ask your students to try one of the following based on their student learning environment:
- Students playing in the K-2nd grade learning environment may need to pick up a backpack for the assigned lesson to appear.
- Students playing in the 3rd-5th grade or 6th-8th grade environments may need to complete an existing lesson before the new lesson appears on their My Lessons Page.
Editing or Cancelling an Assignment
| Q: How do I edit an assignment after I create it? |
A: The only way to edit an assignment after it is created is to cancel the assignment and create it again.
| Q: How do I cancel a student’s assignment? |
A: Assignments can be canceled anytime before they are completed or expired. On the Insight Dashboard, select the view assignment history, choose the Assignment Card, and click Cancel Assignment. This will end the assignment and remove it from the Assignment History.
| Click here to open more detailed instructions on how to cancel an assignment. |
| Q: Is there a way for a student to do the same assignment again? |
A: If a teacher would like a student to continue playing lessons focused on the same domain and standard after the student completes an assignment, the teacher can create a new assignment focused on the same domain and standard. However, the student may not be presented with the same lessons as part of the new assignment.
Viewing Teacher-Created Assignments
| Q: How can I see the assignments each student in my class is working on? |
A: To see the active assignments each student in your classroom is working on, open the Assignment Overview report.
| Click here to learn more about the Assignment Overview report. |
| Q: How can I see which students in my classroom aren't working on an assignment? |
A: To see which students in your classroom are not working on an assignment or are only working on a single assignment, open the Assignment Overview report.
| Click here to learn more about the Assignment Overview report. |
| Q: How can I see all of the assignments I have created? |
A: To see all of the assignments you have created for your classroom, including student progress, open the Assignment History report.
| Click here to learn more about the Assignment History report. |
| Q: How can I see the standards aligned to the lessons students play as part of an assignment? |
A: To see standards aligned with lessons students play as part of an assignment, either open the Activity Feed report or the Student Assignment report (for long-term assignments only).
Retiring Quantile® FAQs
| Q: Why has Assign by Quantile® been retired in DreamBox Math? |
A: Assign by Quantile® has been retired as part of our ongoing efforts to streamline our platform and delivery of high-value teaching and learning experiences to our partners.
| Q: What does this look like in DreamBox Math? |
A: Educators no longer see the Quantile option when selecting an assessment framework in DreamBox Settings and the Assign by Quantile® tab has been removed from assignments.
| Q: Are there plans to bring back Assign by Quantile®? |
A: We are open to revising future updates, should combined data insights indicate a greater impact to our customers broadly.
| Q: What happens to existing Quantile® assignments? |
A: Students will be allowed to complete all preexisting Quantile® assignments. NWEA-based assignments and Quantile®-based assignments use the same reporting code. We currently have no plans to deprecate that.
| Q: Will teachers lose access to past assignments? |
A: No, the history of previous assignments will remain available.
| Q: What alternatives can educators use? |
A: Assign by NWEA is still an option for districts that use NWEA Map.
| Click here to learn more about Assign by NWEA and how to create assignments aligned with the NWEA map. |
What if we don't use the NWEA Map?
Alternatively, Both i-Ready and Star offer reporting on specific standards that the class and students need to work on. Adding a long-term standards-based Assignment in DreamBox Math will ensure that students have plenty of time to master standards identified by their BOY assessment. Create an assignment in DreamBox based on the skills that the iReady or Star reports says they’re ready for or need more support in.
Connecting Assignments with i-Ready Diagnostic*
Use the i-Ready Diagnostic Results to create a standards-aligned assignment for the domain that the whole class most needs to work on. In this case, it’s Geometry. DreamBox Math will adjust the assignment for each student to cover what each student needs to work on in that Domain.
Create a Standards-aligned assignment for individual students, based on standards that each student needs to learn next. In the above image it’s “Partition circles and rectangles into 2, 3, or 4 equal shares … (Geometry domain).” DreamBox Math will adjust the assignment for each student to cover what each student needs to work on in that standard.
Connecting Assignments with Star (Renaissance) Assessments
Use the Renaissance State Standards Mastery Class Report to choose a standard which most of the class needs to work on. Use the color coding to see clusters of skills that students are beginning, developing, or secure in, and select the corresponding state Standard in DreamBox. (The example image below shows Literacy standards.)
Additional Assignments Resources:
- How to Create Assignments Aligned with a Standard or Print Program (Educators)
- How to Create Assignments Aligned with an Assessment Framework (Educators)
- How to Cancel Assignments (Educators)
- The Assignment Overview Report (Educators)
- The Assignment History Report (Educators)
- The Student Assignment Report (Educators)
- DreamBox Math Assignments: FAQs
- DreamBox Math Assignments: NWEA FAQs
| Have a question but don't see the answer here? Please contact our Customer Support Team. We'll be happy to help! |
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