An exit ticket is the shortest feedback loop in teaching: a question at the end of class, answered in a couple of minutes, read in a few more, and used to plan tomorrow. They're simple, but a few choices make the difference between useful data and a stack of paper.
Ask about the one thing that matters
Pick the single most important idea from today's lesson and ask a question that shows whether students got it. Good exit tickets often:
- Ask students to solve one problem of the type taught today
- Ask them to explain why, not just give an answer
- Include a common misconception as a choice ("Maria says... Is she right?")
Avoid "What did you learn today?" It's easy to answer and hard to sort.
Add a confidence check
A quick "How confident are you? 1–3" next to the answer tells you whether a wrong answer is a guess or a misconception.
Sort in three piles
Don't grade them; sort them:
- Got it
- Partly
- Not yet
That takes about five minutes for a class set. The piles are your plan for tomorrow.
Use the piles
- If most students are in "not yet," reteach with a different approach.
- If it's mixed, start with a short warm-up problem and pull the "not yet" group for a few minutes while others extend.
- If almost everyone got it, move on and revisit in a later warm-up.
Formats that work
- Index cards or half-sheets
- A one-question Google Form (see Google Forms quizzes), which collects responses for you
- A sticky note on the door
- A mini whiteboard held up as students leave
Keep them low stakes
If exit tickets count for points, students copy answers or play it safe. Recording only completion, or nothing at all, gets you more honest information. They're a tool for you, not a grade; see the formative vs summative assessment guide for the bigger picture.