Exit Tickets for Learning

Author: Arlene Vinion Dubiel

If I had a favorite assessment tool, it would be exit tickets. The concept of the exit ticket is that students must turn in a ticket before exiting the class. They are quick to administer, only requiring the last two-to-three minutes of class, and they can give me useful information on where students are and what I need to do in the future. There are four primary purposes for which I use exit tickets. In this blog, I'll talk about them and how these exit tickets benefit both me and my students.

Purpose: Summarize Concepts

Like DNA replication or vaccine education, some topics require direct teacher-centered instruction strategies where much of the class period is spent lecturing or talking with students. When teacher-centered methods are used, it's unclear what students genuinely learn. On these days, I have students summarize what they took away from the class in an exit ticket. A summarizing exit ticket benefits the students as they have to think back, throughout the class period, to come up with critical points. It helps the instructor to see what students have learned and what may still be a little unclear.

Summarizing exit tickets can take different forms. I may have students explain a term or concept in their own words or write one question they have about what we did. My favorite is having students complete a 3-2-1 with three things they learned, two things that are still fuzzy, and one question they have. I always require students to put their names on summarizing exit tickets so I can return them. Sometimes, I'll provide feedback, such as a comment, a question, or a simple checkmark to let students know that I recognize they grasped a critical point.

Purpose: Inform Teaching

Having students summarize your lessons may yield valuable information that you can use to inform your teaching, but sometimes you need to ask your students what they need from you. This is a significant step in building the teacher-student relationship, letting your students know that you recognize and are responding to their instructional needs. Often, these are anonymously reported because, ultimately, the information is for you and not for your students.

This kind of exit ticket can take many different forms. Towards the end of a semester of chemistry, I wrote the major content topics on the board and had students judge their comfort level with each one on a scale of 1-5. After looking at the feedback, I chose the least comfortable topics and reviewed those before the final exam. I asked my pre-service science teachers to select three topics they wanted to learn more about, knowing that we did not have time for all of them. On a general basis, I've asked students what class concept was the fuzziest and would start the next class period addressing the most common response. The most important thing about this type of exit ticket is using your students' information to inform your next instructional steps.

Purpose: Lesson Progress

Task-based instruction where students are involved in multi-day group work can be a challenge to manage. Different groups work at different paces, and you, as the teacher, cannot always keep up. When my students are doing multi-day group work, I have them turn in an exit ticket every day, letting me know where they are in the process. I may also ask them to share whether they will need my help right away or are working fine independently. With the lesson progress exit ticket, I can see whether one group is falling behind or if a group is ahead and may need an extra challenge. The lesson progress exit ticket is a necessity to manage task- and project-based instruction. 

Purpose: Practice Test Questions

“Choosing a question that pertains to the day’s content can help students make the link between class and these exams. ”

If you are teaching students who will be taking a major summative exam like the SAT or an AP exam, exit tickets are a great way to let students practice with the types of questions they will see. Practice SAT questions from the College Board, or Khan Academy are readily available for algebra, geometry, or statistics content. If you are teaching AP calculus, it is appropriate to use sample questions for the AP exam found at Khan Academy or direct from the College Board. Choosing a question that pertains to the day's content can help students link class and these exams. It may also help you to know whether students are ready for the questions on these topics. If you want to give feedback, you can have students put their names on them and return with corrections.

Collecting Information

With in-person classes, index cards are the ideal exit ticket. Each student gets a card and returns it when they leave the classroom. I usually require my college students to bring their own index cards. For one of my pre-service teachers' courses, I used exit tickets so often that I needed students to purchase a composition notebook, dubbed the feedback notebook. Students responded to a question or prompt at the end of every class, and I would provide feedback. This notebook became a personal communication tool where students would ask me direct questions without emailing me for an appointment.

With online classes, prior preparation is required to choose the platform, write the question, and provide directions for responses. Most test questions are multiple-choice, and you can use multiple-choice items to inform your teaching. If your exit ticket format is multiple-choice, you can try Kahoot or Poll Everywhere. If you want students to summarize what they have learned from a class, then written responses are required. Google Forms, Formative, or Socrative have different response options, including open format. You can also explore the tools available with your video conferencing software. Many have a polling feature, and if nothing else, you can use the chat feature either as a group or for individual use. Regardless of the platform or the purpose, requiring students to submit an exit ticket at the end of an online class can be beneficial for all.

Exit tickets are a simple assessment tool that can provide immediate (and useful) information. Try incorporating exit tickets with a purpose into the last minutes of a class to benefit you and your students.

Ready To Jumpstart Your Math Redesign Momentum?

Create effective, equitable & quantifiable change in your math program built on the good work you've already done