Some say that first impressions are most important. But every professor who finds their students aimlessly filing out of class two-thirds of the way through will say that students’ final impressions of class tend to last longest—what did they get from showing up, if they just breezed out again? Luckily, there’s an established way you can make sure students go out of the door with purpose and accomplishment: exit tickets. Aligning exit tickets with the key concept of the day’s lesson is essential for effective assessment and ensures that you are measuring student understanding of the most important learning objectives. Exit tickets are also used to assess understanding of a specific skill or concept from the day’s lesson, helping instructors identify areas that may need further attention.
Exit tickets are one of the fastest, lowest-commitment types of active learning tools to implement. Essentially, you ask your students to provide a written answer to a question about their learning before they’re “allowed” to leave your class. Students can decide how to respond, such as through writing, drawing, or other formats, to best demonstrate their understanding. Exit tickets should take only a few minutes for students to complete, ensuring students spend their time meaningfully and efficiently at the end of the lesson. This helps students clarify, understand, and recall their learning better. And, if you feel the need, you can tie attendance or participation grades to completion. However, exit tickets are low stakes and are not meant to be graded, which encourages honest self-reflection. Designing effective exit ticket questions takes practice, and providing an example can help educators get started. Teachers design their own exit tickets linked to the objective of the lesson, ensuring alignment with the intended learning outcomes.
Access customizable exit ticket templates for ideas to spark conversation and meaningful learning.
Introduction to Exit Tickets
Exit tickets are a simple yet powerful tool that educators can use to check student understanding and student learning at the end of a class period. These quick assessments—sometimes called exit slips—ask students to reflect on the day’s lesson and share their thoughts before leaving the classroom. Exit tickets promote student reflection and give quiet students a voice in expressing their understanding. Whether you teach a science class or any other subject, exit tickets can take many forms, from a sticky note handed in at the door to a digital form submitted online.
Using varied formats for exit tickets, such as written notes or drawings, keeps students engaged and prevents boredom. Because they are low stakes, students feel comfortable sharing what they know and where they might need more help. For educators, exit tickets provide immediate feedback, making it easier to identify student needs and adjust instruction accordingly. Teachers must account for individual student perceptions and needs when reviewing exit ticket responses. By regularly using exit tickets, educators can ensure that every class ends with a clear sense of what students have learned and what concepts may need further attention in future lessons.
Benefits of Using Exit Tickets
Incorporating exit tickets into your teaching routine offers a range of benefits for both students and educators. In a college setting, exit tickets are widely used to foster effective teaching strategies and support educational goals. First and foremost, exit tickets provide a quick snapshot of student understanding, allowing you to identify areas where students may need additional support. By reviewing student responses, you can tailor your instruction to better meet the learning goals of your class and address any gaps in knowledge. Exit tickets also encourage students to reflect on their learning, helping them process and retain new information from the lesson. Because they are low stakes, students feel comfortable sharing what they know and where they might need more help. Maintaining low stakes with exit tickets encourages honest self-reflection and reduces student stress. This reflection not only boosts student engagement but also gives students a voice in their own learning by providing feedback to their teachers.
As a resource, exit tickets make it easier to differentiate instruction and plan future lessons that are responsive to student needs. Exit tickets can be differentiated to meet the diverse needs of students in the classroom. Ultimately, using exit tickets can lead to improved student learning and achievement by ensuring that instruction is always focused on what students need most.
There are a number of different kinds of exit tickets. Here are three examples, each with a different emphasis, to illustrate different approaches to exit tickets and how students respond to prompts.
Minute Paper
The minute paper is one of the favorite tools of James Lang, Professor of Practice at the Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of Notre Dame. The minute paper exit ticket idea is particularly helpful in classes that are discussion- or lab-led.
According to Lang, the end of the lecture is “when you want to say, ‘Okay class, we had a great discussion. Last five minutes here, I want everyone to write down in your notebook or index card, what are three key takeaways you had from this discussion, and what’s one question that you still have?’” This exercise helps students focus on the main points of the discussion, track their progress in mastering key skills, and reflect on their understanding. To further explain, this activity helps students consolidate their learning and allows teachers to assess specific skills or concepts covered in the lesson.
If it takes place at the end of a lively class discussion, a minute paper won’t derail your students’ train of thought, but help to connect their ideas with the wider aim of the class. In addition to writing down key takeaways and questions, exit tickets can include specific prompts such as solving a math problem or defining a key term from the lesson. The best class discussions always spill out into the hallway, and a minute paper won’t dampen student enthusiasm.
Muddiest Point
If you are interested in customizing exit tickets to better support student learning, consider using the muddiest point exercise to focus on areas where students need the most clarification.
In the ‘muddiest point’ exercise, students are given index cards and asked to write down what they least understood about that day’s lesson. You could consider making this anonymous in order to encourage honest responses. This method allows teachers to provide feedback and differentiate instruction based on what was taught and what students still find unclear.
You can use this exit ticket to find out your class’s muddiest point by process of elimination. Ask your students to send you topics they feel most in need of clarification, consolidate them into a list, and see if there are any standout issues. Try to pre-dedicate time in the following class to address these issues.
3-2-1 Reflection
The 3-2-1 Reflection is a versatile and straightforward exit ticket idea that encourages students to consolidate their learning and think critically about the day’s lesson. In this exercise, students list three things they learned, two interesting facts or ideas that caught their attention, and one question they still have. This format not only helps students reflect on key concepts but also provides teachers with valuable insights into student understanding and areas that may need further clarification. The 3-2-1 Reflection can be easily adapted for any subject, making it a flexible tool to promote active learning and student engagement at the end of a class period.
Formative Assessment and Student Accountability
Formative assessment plays a crucial role in keeping students accountable for their own learning by encouraging continuous reflection and self-assessment throughout the course. Exit tickets serve as an effective formative assessment tool by prompting students to actively engage with the material and articulate their understanding or challenges. This process fosters a sense of responsibility and ownership over their learning journey, motivating students to identify areas where they need improvement and to connect classroom concepts to real-life contexts.
To enhance student accountability, exit tickets can include reflective questions that encourage deeper thinking and personal connection to the material. Some examples of effective formative assessment questions include:
- Describe a connection you can see between today’s material and your life.
- What gave you the most difficulty today and why?
- In 50 words or less, summarize today’s material.
These prompts not only help students consolidate their learning but also provide teachers with valuable insights into student perspectives and potential obstacles. By regularly incorporating such reflective questions into exit tickets, educators can support a growth mindset and promote active, self-directed learning that extends beyond the classroom.
Using Technology to Enhance Exit Tickets
Technology offers exciting new ways to make exit tickets more engaging, efficient, and insightful. With digital exit ticket templates, teachers can quickly create and distribute exit slips that students can complete on their laptops, tablets, or phones. Digital access to exit tickets through tools like Google Forms or Top Hat makes participation easy and allows for immediate data collection. Using a platform allows students to submit their responses from anywhere, and for educators to collect and review data in real time. Exit tickets can be completed digitally through online polls, surveys, quizzes, and forms. Digital tools also allow for a variety of question types, such as multiple choice, short answer, or even interactive elements like videos or images, making the process more fun and accessible for students.
Incorporating multimedia and creative projects can make exit tickets more enjoyable for students. Educators can use learning management systems, online survey platforms, or educational apps such as Top Hat to create and manage exit tickets, often with features like automatic grading and instant feedback. Digital exit tickets can also supplement online courses and support remote learning, making them a valuable tool for virtual or hybrid classrooms. By leveraging technology, educators can gain deeper insights into student understanding and learning, streamline the assessment process, and create a more dynamic classroom experience. Using digital exit tickets is similar to accessing information in a library—students benefit from the efficiency and breadth of digital resources, enabling more self-directed and effective learning. Digital exit tickets not only save time but also provide valuable analytics that help instructors identify trends, adjust instruction and support student achievement more effectively. Integrating technology into exit tickets reflects the role of technology in modern life and helps prepare students for real-life situations where digital skills are essential.
Using Data to Inform Instruction
One of the most powerful aspects of exit tickets is the wealth of data they provide to inform instruction and enhance student learning. When students submit their exit tickets at the end of a class period, educators gain immediate insight into student understanding of the day’s lesson. By carefully reviewing student responses—whether from multiple choice questions, short written answers, or creative formats—educators can quickly identify which concepts have been mastered and which require further attention.
This real-time feedback allows educators to make informed decisions about how to adjust their teaching strategies to better meet student needs. For example, if exit ticket data reveals that many students struggled with a key concept, teachers can decide to revisit that material in the next class, provide targeted practice, or offer additional resources. Conversely, if students demonstrate strong understanding, instructors might accelerate the pace or introduce more advanced topics, ensuring that learning remains challenging and engaging.
Regularly analyzing exit ticket responses is essential for differentiating instruction. By identifying patterns and trends in student learning, educators can create targeted interventions for those who need extra support and enrichment opportunities for those ready to move ahead. This approach not only supports individual student achievement but also helps the entire class progress more effectively toward learning goals.
In addition to shaping instruction, exit ticket data serves as a valuable tool for providing feedback to students. When instructors review and respond to student answers, they help students reflect on their own progress, recognize areas of strength, and set goals for improvement. This ongoing communication fosters a sense of ownership and agency in learning, encouraging students to take an active role in their educational journey.
To maximize the benefits of exit tickets, educators can use a variety of exit ticket templates and formats—ranging from traditional paper slips to digital forms. Digital tools, in particular, make it easy to collect, organize, and analyze data, allowing teachers to track student progress over time and quickly identify areas for instructional focus. Whether using sticky notes, online surveys, or interactive apps, the key is to create a system that regularly gathers meaningful data and uses it to inform future instruction.
Ultimately, using data from exit tickets is an essential strategy for any educator committed to improving student understanding and achievement. By making exit tickets a routine part of your assessment toolkit, you can ensure that every lesson is responsive to student needs, every student has the opportunity to succeed, and your teaching is always informed by real evidence of learning.
Exit Tickets: Classroom-Ready Examples
Top Hat’s exit ticket template, designed with the help of instructional design experts, contains many helpful printouts. This helpful instructor resource offers four versions with two templates per category. Two of the versions can be used as jumping-off points for minute papers (assessing understanding and asking students to reflect and summarize), and the other two can be used for muddiest point exercises (finding gaps in learning, and what students would want covered the following class). These exit tickets serve not only as formative assessments but also offer additional benefits by supporting a variety of assessment strategies, gathering student feedback and enhancing classroom engagement.
Access free exit ticket ideas here.
Frequently Asked Questions About Exit Tickets
1. What is an exit ticket in the classroom?
An exit ticket is a short formative assessment that students complete at the end of a class to demonstrate what they learned. Exit tickets typically consist of one to three questions and help instructors quickly assess understanding, identify misconceptions, and adjust future instruction.
2. What are the benefits of using exit tickets?
Exit tickets help instructors check for understanding in real time, encourage student reflection, and provide actionable feedback without adding significant grading time. When used consistently, exit tickets can improve student engagement, support data-informed teaching decisions, and increase retention of key concepts.
3. What are some effective exit ticket ideas for the classroom?
Effective exit ticket ideas include asking students to summarize the key concept in one sentence, identify the “muddiest point” from the lesson, answer a quick multiple-choice question, apply what they learned to a real-world example, or predict how the concept will be used in a future lesson or exam. These prompts encourage reflection and help instructors quickly assess student understanding.