If you want to understand what school and district leaders truly care about, look at what they are searching for.

According to Education Week Marketing Solutions’ Trending Topics in K-12: A Look at July to December 2025, leaders are balancing stronger instruction with rising student needs, funding uncertainty, political pressure, and rapid AI growth. And math is not a side conversation. It is central to this moment.

The Top Search Terms Tell the Story
The report lists the top 10 edweek.org search terms as:

  • AI
  • Special Education
  • Small Group Instruction
  • Math
  • Science of Reading
  • Mental Health
  • Classroom Management
  • Assessment
  • SEL
  • School Shootings

At first glance, that list feels wide ranging. But it points to two consistent concerns:

  • Raising academic performance
  • Supporting all students equitably

Leaders’ Biggest Pain Points

The EdWeek Market Brief data in the report highlights that school and district leaders cite these as their biggest professional challenges:

  • Helping all students equitably
  • Increasing student engagement
  • Managing budgets
  • Supporting student mental health
  • Navigating political pressures

Math sits at the intersection of every one of these issues. When scores fall, math feels the pressure first. When equity gaps are examined, math data is front and center. When engagement struggles, math classrooms often reflect it most clearly.

The Risk Right Now Is Fragmentation

Students do not experience school in fragments, and math instruction cannot operate that way either. It must connect to assessment, intervention, engagement, and equity.

At NTN, we believe the path forward is clarity. Math instruction should:

  • Make student thinking visible
  • Align tightly to standards
  • Support general and special education learners
  • Integrate assessment in meaningful ways
  • Remain affordable and transparent

When leaders are searching for math, small group instruction, assessment, and equity at the same time, that is not coincidence. It is a signal.

If you are a superintendent, curriculum leader, or principal, ask yourself:

  • Does your math system truly align instruction and assessment?
  • Do interventions strengthen core instruction or compete with it?
  • Are teachers equipped to make student thinking visible?

The challenges outlined in the EdWeek report are real. But so is the opportunity.

If your district is looking to improve math achievement, strengthen small group supports, and align instruction with assessment through practical and affordable professional learning, NTN is ready to partner with you.

Schedule a conversation with us to explore how MathKEYmatics and our professional learning solutions can support your district’s goals.