Where do IXL recommendations come from?
From what IXL already knows about you. Its family blog says that “Using information from the Diagnostic and prior IXL practice, the Recommendations wall provides limitless questions from skills that your child is ready to work on next.” IXL’s teacher user guide says students also find “recommendations from the Real-Time Diagnostic” on their wall, described as “the perfect next-step skills to reinforce concepts or build on current knowledge.” For what a Diagnostic level means, see the IXL Diagnostic score chart.
The wall covers math, English language arts, science and social studies; science and social studies joined in January 2022. IXL says students view it “by going to Learning and clicking on the Recommendations tab.” A brand-new account has little to go on. IXL’s 2024 family guide says the wall “works its magic best when your child has already practiced a bit on IXL” and suggests starting with “a skill plan or the Diagnostic Action Plan.”
What are the five IXL recommendation types?
IXL names five, and students can filter the wall by any of them or by subject. The descriptions below are from IXL’s student poster sheet.
| Type | IXL’s description | When it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Work it out | “Stuck on a skill? Try working on these building block skills to help you tackle your trouble spots.” | A skill is going badly and you need the background first |
| Keep at it | “These are skills you’re making progress in, but haven’t yet reached excellence (SmartScore of 90).” | Finishing skills you already started |
| Go for gold | “You’ve already demonstrated excellence in these skills–now it’s time to reach for mastery.” | Taking a skill from 90 toward 100 |
| Next up | “Extend your knowledge! Build upon the skills you’ve just learned by trying these natural next steps.” | Moving on after a skill |
| Try something new | “Explore new skills or topics you haven’t practiced yet.” | Starting a topic you haven’t touched |
One IXL document counts differently. The Canadian edition of IXL’s personalized-practice guide says “There are 6 types of skill recommendations on IXL,” while the US edition of the same guide, IXL’s recommendation-types sheet and its 2024 family guide all name five. We list the five that IXL names.
Why did my IXL recommendations change?
Because the wall updates as you work. IXL says “with every skill practiced, IXL automatically updates students Recommendations wall to show students what they’re ready to work on next,” and its Getting started page says recommendations “update as they practice.” A few changes follow from IXL’s own definitions:
- Keep at it covers skills below 90, IXL’s mark for excellence. Skills past 90 belong under Go for gold, which IXL describes as the push to mastery.
- After a SmartScore of 90 in a skill, IXL says the in-skill recommendations under it switch to Next up skills “so learners can build on what they just practiced.”
- Diagnostic recommendations are “based on exactly where they are at,” so answering more Diagnostic questions can change them.
- A teacher can star a skill for you or turn a suggestion off, which changes your suggested skills list.
If a skill you wanted is gone from the wall, you can still open it from its subject tab by topic or grade, or type its skill ID into the search bar. IXL says each skill’s ID “will never change.”
How do you add recommendations on IXL?
Teachers and parents add skills by starring them, and starred skills show up on the student’s wall in a suggested skills list. IXL’s steps:
- Hover over the gray star next to a skill name. A menu lists your students, sorted by class.
- Click the star next to a class, next to a student’s name (open the class first), or next to “All students.”
- The student sees a yellow star next to the skill, and IXL says “it will also be included in their suggested skills list on their Recommendations wall.”
- To take a suggestion back, click the star again.
IXL says starring “works the same way on family accounts,” where a parent picks which child gets the skill. Teachers can also star the Real-Time Diagnostic itself so it appears in that suggested list, and they can see everything they have starred from the teacher dashboard. On the student side, the wall can be filtered by subject, using the subject icon on each tile, and by recommendation type.
How is the wall different from skill plans and in-skill recommendations?
| Feature | Where you see it | What decides the skills |
|---|---|---|
| Recommendations wall | Learning, then the Recommendations tab | Your Diagnostic and practice history, plus skills a teacher starred |
| In-skill recommendations | “at the bottom of the screen while students are practicing” | The skill you are on: background skills under Work it out, and Next up skills after a SmartScore of 90 |
| Skill plans | The Skill plans tab | Ready-made sets matched to textbooks, standards or tests; plans a teacher pins appear for students |
| Diagnostic Action Plan | A link at the bottom of the student’s Diagnostic stats page | Your Diagnostic levels, with recommendations for each strand |
What SmartScore should you aim for on a recommended skill?
For a skill that is new to you, IXL’s guide suggests 80. It tells teachers: “For recommended skills that are new concepts for your students, encourage them to work to a SmartScore of 80 (proficiency).” Go for gold skills are the ones IXL wants taken further, toward 100. If your teacher set a target, that target is the one that counts. The IXL SmartScore guide explains what 80, 90 and 100 mean and why the score drops faster after 90.
Where Silent Student fits
We make Silent Student, a desktop app for Mac and Windows from El Dorado Ignition LLC. Its general vision agent works IXL skills that your Canvas course links to, one question at a time, and it does not take IXL Diagnostics, which set the level of the skills IXL recommends, so take those yourself. IXL’s Terms of Service, effective September 30, 2026, bar using an “Agent” to access IXL, and in our reading that reaches Silent Student (more on the IXL page).
Questions people ask
What is the IXL Recommendations wall?
A personalized page of IXL skills for each student, built from their Diagnostic results and past practice. IXL updates it as the student practices.
What are the types of IXL recommendations?
IXL names five: Work it out, Keep at it, Go for gold, Next up and Try something new. Each points to a different kind of practice, from background skills to brand-new topics.
Why do my IXL recommendations keep changing?
IXL updates the wall after every skill you practice. Taking a skill past a SmartScore of 90, new Diagnostic answers and skills your teacher stars all change what it shows.
How do teachers add recommendations on IXL?
They hover over the gray star next to a skill and choose a class, a student or all students. The skill gets a yellow star and appears in the student’s suggested skills list on the Recommendations wall.
Where is the Recommendations wall on IXL?
Students open Learning and click the Recommendations tab. They can filter the wall by subject and by recommendation type.
What SmartScore should I reach on a recommended skill?
For new concepts, IXL suggests a SmartScore of 80, which it calls proficiency. Your teacher’s target is the one that counts for your grade.
Does Silent Student take IXL Diagnostics?
No. Silent Student does not take IXL Diagnostics, which set the level of the skills IXL recommends. Take them yourself.
Sources
All fetched and checked October 20, 2026 unless a line says otherwise.
- IXL for Personalized Practice: Implementation guide (IXL Canada, PDF)
- IXL for Personalized Practice: Implementation guide (IXL US edition, PDF)
- IXL Recommendation Types (IXL, PDF)
- IXL Teacher’s User Guide (IXL, PDF, © 2026)
- Getting started (IXL)
- Unlock your child’s full potential with IXL (IXL blog, November 10, 2021)
- How to find IXL skills for your child to work on (IXL blog, September 24, 2024)
- New on IXL: Recommendations for science and social studies skills! (IXL blog, January 13, 2022)
- IXL’s instructional resources: Tools to empower independent learning (IXL blog, updated October 8, 2024)
- Suggest skills to individual students and classes! (IXL blog, August 1, 2019)
- IXL Terms of Service , effective September 30, 2026
How this guide was made. We read each IXL page listed above on October 20, 2026 and quote them directly. The “When it helps” column and the notes on why the wall changes are our reading of IXL’s own definitions, not IXL’s wording. We wrote the guide with AI assistance and checked each quote against its source.
Related guides: How long does the IXL Diagnostic take? · How does the IXL SmartScore work? · Is there an IXL answer key? · IXL Diagnostic score chart · Does IXL have a lockdown browser? · All guides · IXL
Written by the company that makes Silent Student. Silent Student is not affiliated with or endorsed by IXL Learning. IXL and SmartScore are trademarks of their owner.