Exit Tickets
Exit tickets are a quick means of surveying student comprehension and promoting the synthesis of class content. Tickets typically take the form of a very brief written response and ask students to summarize or reflect on their understanding of a core concept or give feedback on their learning.
- Determine what you would like to assess or gather feedback on. Consider the objectives of the day’s lesson and instructional techniques.
- Develop a question or request that will aid in your assessment. Commonly used ticket
items include:
- Name one important thing you learned in class today.
- Ask one question about today’s content - something that has left you puzzled.
- Read this problem, and tell me what your first step would be in solving it.
- We worked in small groups today. Was this helpful or confusing for you? Why?
- Pass out notecards, scrap paper, or pre-printed exit tickets.
- About 5 minutes before the end of class, explain your intention and pose your question or request aloud and in writing. Instruct students to provide an answer and give it to you before leaving.
- Collect and read responses to inform future instruction.
Check out the resources tab for a print-an-use resource related to this practice.
Exit tickets are a type of low-stakes formative assessment. When they require students to reflect on how they learn, they can increase metacognition. Because they are low stakes and often invite feedback on the student’s experience, exit tickets can increase engagement and motivation.
Formative assessment:
- Elicits evidence of student learning
- Improves student understanding of intended disciplinary learning outcomes
- Increases the responsiveness of instruction
- Helps students identify strengths and weaknesses
Metacognitive practices:
- Increase students’ awareness of how they learn, including strengths and weaknesses
- Improve students’ ability to accurately assess what they know and what they do not
- Enhance students’ self-monitoring and the ability to correct their learning processes
Engagement practices:
- Require students to actively participate in their learning
- Foster community by highlighting commonalities in students’ experiences
- Strengthen relationships between students and instructors by demonstrating care and interest in students’ experience
Motivation practices:
- Acknowledge the challenge of learning and invite participation
- Help students to feel seen without feeling judged
Samples
- Sample exit ticket questions from Brown University
- Sample exit tickets from the Center for Teaching Excellence
Template
- Exit ticket templates from the Massachusetts Teachers Association
Research
- 2016 peer-reviewed article on a study assessing the effectiveness of exit tickets as implemented by four instructors at a midwestern university
Video
- Using exit tickets online, 10 min.