Gauging Student Learning with Exit Tickets

Teachers are always on the lookout for effective methods to help students achieve successful learning results. Unfortunately, some of those methods can be stressful and time-consuming. Ready for an effective method that’s quick and easy to create and utilize?

Try “exit tickets”! These provide quick assessments with immediate feedback to help teachers gauge student learning and inform their instruction accordingly. Exit tickets are a formative assessment, typically used at the conclusion of a lesson to test students’ comprehension of the material. They are brief questionnaires related to the main topics covered in that class period. The purpose is to determine if students have understood the material and pinpoint any areas of uncertainty or misunderstanding. An exit ticket allows teachers to quickly assess whether the entire class needs to review a concept or if additional support is needed for specific students or small groups.

The design of exit tickets can be simple or elaborate, utilizing a variety of paper-based, dry-erase, or digital designs. Keep in mind that exit tickets are meant to be a quick assessment, so students should be able to complete them in under five minutes. It is recommended to use a variety of types of questions and designs throughout the school year so that students don’t get bored with the same type. This also allows their learning to be assessed in multiple formats. Exit tickets can be utilized on a daily basis, several times a week, or on a weekly basis. Just taking a few minutes at the end of a lesson can be very beneficial to gauge student learning and inform your instruction. 

Benefits of Exit Tickets

There are many benefits to using exit tickets as a formative assessment method in your math classroom.

• Immediate feedback: Exit tickets provide teachers with instant feedback on student understanding, allowing them to make quick adjustments to their teaching to address any areas of confusion.
• Assessment of learning: These can be used to assess student learning and understanding of the lesson objectives, helping teachers identify any gaps in knowledge that may need to be revisited.
• Differentiation: Exit tickets can be used to gather information on overall class and individual student understanding, allowing teachers to differentiate their instruction to meet the needs of each student.
• Accountability: Students are held accountable for their learning when required to demonstrate their understanding of the lesson material before leaving the classroom or beginning the next subject area. 
• Engagement: Exit tickets can be a fun and interactive way to end a lesson, keeping students engaged and motivated to participate in their own learning.
• Reflection: These can encourage students to reflect on their own learning and identify areas where they may need additional support or practice. Studies have shown the benefits of reflection in the learning process. 
• Communication: Exit tickets can provide a platform for students to communicate their thoughts, questions, or concerns with the teacher, fostering a more open and collaborative learning environment. 
• Data collection: Exit tickets can serve as a valuable data collection tool for teachers to track student progress over time and inform instructional decision-making, not only for the next lesson but for whole chapters, units, etc.
  • Try using confidence level prompts as exit ticket baskets!  Label bins or designated areas with “I need help,” “I’m getting there,” and “I’ve got this.” Students can then place their completed work in the corresponding basket, providing you with quick data on both their understanding of the concept and their confidence level.

Types of Exit Tickets

It is important to incorporate a variety of response formats to assess different areas of understanding. 

• Reflection prompts: Students are asked to reflect on their learning following the lesson by answering questions such as “What was one thing you learned in today’s lesson that you found interesting or important?” or “What questions do you still have about today’s lesson or topic?”
• Formative assessment questions: These questions assess students’ understanding of the day’s lesson and can be multiple choice, short answer, or true or false.
• Self-assessment scales: Students rate their own confidence in understanding the material using a scale and explain why they chose that rating. This could be a 1‒5 scale, with 1 being not confident at all that they understand and 5 being very confident. It could be a smiley face, straight face, or frowny face, or traffic light colors of green, yellow, and red. These could indicate they feel very confident they understood the material, they feel okay but would like more practice to be sure they understood, and they did not feel they understood the lesson and know they need more help. 
• Summarizing tasks: Students are asked to summarize the key points of the lesson in a few sentences or write their own example of an equation they can now solve after completing the lesson. 
• Problem-solving tasks: Students are given a problem related to the lesson and asked to solve it or explain their thought process. One task could be to identify errors in an equation and correct them to solve the problem. 

Using Exit Tickets to Gauge Student Learning

• Ensure that the exit ticket questions are directly related to the specific skill being taught in the lesson.
• Clearly communicate expectations for student responses and emphasize the purpose of exit tickets as an important learning tool for both teachers and students.
• Have students give their responses on the exit ticket before leaving the class. Set a time limit for completion to ensure students stay focused. Completion should take less than five minutes. 
• Make it engaging by utilizing interactive and interesting exit ticket tasks to keep students motivated and focused on the assessment.
• Make sure each student’s exit ticket has been submitted and labeled with their name, class number, or whatever identifier you choose, so you’ll know which response belongs to which student. This is especially important so you can provide individual support for any struggling students.
• Periodically provide feedback to students on their responses, either individually or as a class. This shows you value their answers on the exit tickets and are using their feedback to help them better understand the material. 
  • Leah Alcala’s warm-up routine, “My Favorite NO,” is an effective method for giving and receiving feedback. She begins by presenting a sample problem on the board, which students answer on index cards. After sorting the cards into correct and incorrect piles, she selects her favorite wrong answer to discuss with the class. This process, similar to using clickers, allows her to quickly gauge the percentage of students who understand the material. However, unlike clickers, it also provides insight into the specifics of each student’s mistake. While reviewing her favorite “NO,” she maintains a positive atmosphere by highlighting the good math work that was done, even though the final answer was incorrect.

Informing Instructions Based on Data 

Exit tickets can be used as a regular part of classroom procedures to track student progress and adjust teaching strategies accordingly. The feedback from an exit ticket can inform teachers on how well students understand the lesson concept. This data can then be utilized in planning and differentiating future instruction. The following are several questions to ask yourself when analyzing exit ticket data: 

• What was the overall performance of the class (i.e., how many students understood versus struggled with the material)?
• Which students grasp the lesson objectives and can progress effectively?
• Is there a pattern of errors or feedback from those who are struggling? 
• For those who are struggling, what adjustments are needed within my lesson plans to better meet their needs in the following lesson? For example, what specific concepts or skills need to be focused on and by whom?

Exit tickets enable you to analyze student performance data to pinpoint areas of strength and areas needing improvement, allowing you to differentiate instruction for the following day or future lessons. This might involve providing more focused teaching on core concepts for a group struggling with similar misconceptions, while encouraging independent work for students who have a strong grasp of the material. Paper exit tickets are particularly useful in this scenario ‒ you can easily form groups by creating piles based on similar student responses or performance levels.

The data collected can be used to track student progress. Records from multiple classes could also be used to determine the effectiveness of teaching strategies, tools, etc. By setting high expectations for all students and establishing clear learning objectives, differentiation ensures that each student receives the necessary support to achieve mastery.

Resources to Inspire Your Assessments

For more ideas on assessment data and helping struggling students, check out these blog posts on Tips for Effectively Responding to Assessment Data and Supporting Learners Who Struggle in Math.

Utilizing exit tickets after math lessons can provide a variety of benefits for students. These tickets allow teachers to assess comprehension, encourage participation, and promote reflection among students in the classroom.

Here are some ready-made resources and inspiration for you to create your own exit tickets:
24 Irresistible Math Exit Tickets for Teachers (with Templates)

26 Exit Ticket Ideas and Examples for Immediate Feedback

25+ Free Exit Ticket Templates | Math = Love

18 exit ticket questions to prompt student reflection | Ziplet