How many times have you taught what you believed to be an amazing lesson only to find out later a decent chunk of your students definitely didn’t get it. It can be extremely frustrating! We all know that formative assessments along the way are key to avoiding this, but I think we sometimes have the tendency to overthink and over complicate formative assessments- at least I know I have been guilty of this in the past! One of the easiest ways I have found to incorporate formative assessments, is the exit slip, or exit ticket (whichever you like!).
First, exit slips are customizable! Just like any formative assessment, exit slips, or exit tickets, can come in a variety of different shapes and sizes. Post-it notes, scrap paper, quick write journey entry, pre-planned printables. All of these can be used as exit slips! The main idea is that the student must complete the task in order to exit the room, or exit the lesson if you will. Of course an exit slip wouldn’t technically have to be given at the conclusion of the lesson; you could distribute one at the beginning of a lesson to assess retention from the previous day’s skill or concept. That’s part of the beauty of an exit slip! You get to decide what it looks like for you and your students and your lessons! Just remember, exit slips should be given either the day you taught the lesson or the very next day.
Personally, one of my favorite exit slips to use in the classroom is my Everyday Math Exit Slip. I base them upon the Everyday Math Assessment Check-in provided at the end of each of the lessons. Essentially, the Assessment Check-in lets you know what the minimum learning is for each lesson. I don’t know about you, but I like to know that my students are mastering at least the minimum learning for each lesson before moving on to the next skill. Using my Everyday Math Exit Slips has really allowed me to do this.
The proof is in the pudding; or in this case, the proof is in the exit slip! Exit slips provide proof as to what your students have learned, or retained, in any given lesson. We use Standards Based Grading in our classroom, so I am always looking for ways to collect artifacts to document my students’ learning. Not only do exit slips provide me, as the teacher, with proof of whether or not my students have understood what I’ve taught, it also provides my students, as learners, proof as to how well they have understood the content. Sometimes, in addition to having students complete the prompt on an exit ticket, I will also ask them to tell me on the back how well they think they’ve understood the lesson- we use a sliding scale (1-5). When they get the exit ticket back they can see how well their assessment of their learning aligned with their performance on the prompt. Sometimes this is proof that they’re quite in tune with their learning, and sometimes it is proof that they may still need some extra practice.
Exit slips are quick! I don’t know about you, but I like to make the absolute most of each minute in my lessons with my students. Time is a precious commodity in the classroom, or at least it is in mine. I have to imagine I’m not alone! Exit slips are so quick to give. For my Everyday Math Exit Slips, I just have a quick problem that aligns with the day’s lesson to show me whether or not the student understood the lesson. An exit ticket shouldn’t be a long, drawn out, time consuming activity. In ELA, I might ask students to answer a quick prompt on a post it note. I’m not looking for novels, just quick proof that the students are where I think they are in terms of progression in the focus skill or concept. I also make sure to take a few moments the day after I’ve given the exit slip to go over it as a class. You could do this using a SmartBoard or document camera; I really like for students to see exactly what I see when reviewing exit slips- especially in math. I believe it is so important for students to see their mistakes and understand how to correct them. Students don’t always know what they don’t know, and it is our job to help them see this. Remember, exit tickets (and all other forms of formative assessments!) are not just for you as the teacher! Exit slips are equally as important to the student.
Exit slips are easy to assess. You remember that really well-meaning assignment you gave to your students as a formative assessment that you planned on using to see where they were at before the summative? That’s right, the unnecessarily long one that you put in your bulging teacher take home bag because it was too long to grade after school so you were going to look at it after dinner. And yes, it is that same one that you found three weeks after the summative assessment when you decided you really needed to clean out your teacher take home bag before your bill to the chiropractor got out of hand. That’s the one. Exit slips are the complete opposite of that assignment. They are incredibly easy (and quick) to grade. Yes, you read correctly, quick and easy used to describe grading! That’s a teacher’s dream, right? I typically, review the completed exit slips as soon after they are completed as I can. Maybe while the kids are at specials, or after they’ve started on some other independent work, or even right after they leave a the end of the day. You really only need a minute or two. As I review the students’ work on the exit slips, I place them into one of three piles. Students who exhibited complete understanding of the concept (tier 1). Students who had small errors or partial understanding (tier 2). And the final group consisted of students who had little to no understanding of the skill (tier 3). After I have them separated I can quickly and easily mark each exit slip in the stacks with a 3, 2, or 1 to indicate to students mastery, emerging, or beginning skill level. Then I simply clip them together and leave them out ready to pass back at the beginning of the next day’s lesson for review.
Finally, exit slips are powerful. You wouldn’t get in your car and drive if you weren’t seeing clearly; at least I really really hope not. How you lay out your instruction in the classroom should be the same. You need to be able to clearly see what your students know and don’t know in order to drive your instruction. Exit slips. That is the job of an exit slip- to drive your instruction. After I’ve divided the students’ exit slips into their three different piles, I know exactly where my students are. The tier one students are good to go; they could benefit from being allowed to help the tier two students. The tier three students are the ones that I would want to meet with either individually or in a small group setting. When it comes to Everyday Math, you can always check the Assessment Check-in portion of the lesson for ideas on how to best help your tier three students. After reviewing the exit slips each day, I have a clear understanding where my students are and how to proceed in the next day’s lesson. When you know exactly where each student is at, you gain so much time back because you know when you’re good to move on or when it’s necessary to practice a concept a little more as a whole group before moving on. It isn’t a guessing game; you have clear evidence, and that is a powerful tool.
So in a nutshell:
#1) Exit slips are customizable.
You can design them anyway you want/need to in order to fit your lesson and your kiddos
#2) Exit slips are proof.
They give you cold hard facts of where your students are in their learning of a particular concept/skill.
#3) Exit slips are quick.
Exit slips should not take much time to distribute, complete, and collect.
Take just a couple minutes to review the exit slip with your kids the next day.
#4) Exit slips are easy.
Exit slips are easy to grade. Break them into 3 categories.
They get it.
They kind of get it.
They don’t understand at all.
#5) Exit slips are powerful.
Exit slips will clearly drive your instruction.
If you do teach Everyday Math, and you want exit slips that are fully aligned with each lesson and ready to print, you can check out ours here! We have Everyday Math Exit Slips for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade.
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