Exit Tickets That Actually Work: 30 Ready-to-Use Examples for Economics, Statistics and Maths Teachers

You have just taught a lesson that felt good. The explanations landed and nobody looked lost. Then the homework comes in and a third of the class cannot calculate an elasticity, read a two-way table or apply the chain rule. The lesson felt fine because the students who spoke were the ones who understood. The quiet ones gave you no evidence either way.

Exit tickets close that gap. In the last few minutes of a lesson, every student gives you a small piece of written evidence about the one thing you most wanted them to learn. You read the slips in ten minutes, sort them into piles, and walk into the next lesson knowing who needs what. No marking load, no grades, just better information. This guide covers the research, how to write tickets that diagnose, how to act on them, and 30 examples for AP, A Level, IB and university classes.

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What an exit ticket is, and why the evidence supports it

An exit ticket (also called an exit pass or exit slip) is a short question or two that every student answers individually at the end of a lesson and hands in before leaving. It carries no marks and is designed to be read quickly. Its only job is to tell you whether the lesson’s main objective has been met, and by whom.

Exit tickets belong to formative assessment: assessment used to adjust teaching while learning is still happening. In “Inside the Black Box”, Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam summarised a wide review of classroom studies and concluded that strengthening formative assessment raises standards. They reported typical effect sizes of between 0.4 and 0.7, larger than most educational interventions, and noted that many studies found improved formative assessment helps lower attainers more than the rest^[1].

Leahy, Lyon, Thompson and Wiliam later described what this looks like day to day. They set out five key strategies, from sharing learning intentions to activating students as owners of their own learning, and practical techniques for each. One is the “exit pass”: students answer a question on an index card and hand it in before they leave^[2]. Wiliam developed the framework at book length in Embedded Formative Assessment, with eliciting evidence of learning at its centre^[3].

Rosenshine’s summary of research on effective teaching also lists checking for student understanding as a principle of instruction^[4], and the Education Endowment Foundation’s Toolkit rates feedback as very low cost with an average impact of about six additional months of progress, on evidence it rates as highly secure^[5]. An exit ticket does not deliver that impact on its own; it gives you the information good feedback depends on.

How to design an exit ticket that tells you something

Weak exit tickets test too much, ask how students feel rather than what they know, or make every wrong answer look the same. Three rules fix this.

Rule 1: one objective

Write the ticket for the single most important thing the lesson was meant to achieve. After a lesson on price elasticity, test whether students can calculate and interpret it, not yesterday’s work on supply. A focused ticket gives a clean signal you can act on.

Rule 2: two or three questions, three to five minutes

One question can be passed by luck; five take too long to answer and to read. A useful pattern is one direct question, one application and, optionally, one “explain why” prompt.

Rule 3: diagnostic distractors

In multiple-choice items, every wrong option should match a specific, common mistake, so a wrong answer tells you how a student is confused, not just that they are. Wiliam calls well-designed questions of this kind, used at a key point in a lesson, hinge questions^[3]. The same thinking works at the end of the lesson.

How to sort responses and plan the next lesson

Do not mark the slips. Sort them into three piles.

The size of the piles decides how you open the next lesson. As a rule of thumb (a planning heuristic, not a research finding): if most students got it, move on and give the few “not yet” students a targeted task; if the picture is mixed, open with a ten-minute starter on the most common error; if most are “nearly” or “not yet”, reteach the core idea differently before adding anything new. Note the pile counts each time and, over a term, you will see which topics need more time next year.

10 ready-to-use economics exit tickets (AP and A Level)

For AP Micro and Macro, Cambridge 9708 and IB Economics. Use one or two per lesson.

1. Price elasticity of demand. Price rises from $10 to $12 and quantity demanded falls from 100 to 90. Calculate PED and state what happens to total revenue.
   Answer: %ΔQ = −10%, %ΔP = +20%, so PED = −0.5 (inelastic). Total revenue rises from $1,000 to $1,080.
2. Shift or movement. The price of coffee rises. What happens to the demand curve for tea, and to the equilibrium price and quantity of tea?
   Answer: Tea is a substitute, so demand for tea shifts right; equilibrium price and quantity of tea both rise. (A common error is to show a movement along the tea demand curve.)
3. Negative externality. A factory’s production pollutes a river. Compared with the socially optimal level, does the free market produce too much or too little? Name one policy that could correct it.
   Answer: Too much, because marginal social cost exceeds marginal private cost. A tax equal to the marginal external cost at the optimum (a Pigouvian tax) is one correction; regulation or tradable permits are also acceptable.
4. Price ceiling. Qd = 100 − 2P and Qs = 10 + P. Find the equilibrium. A maximum price of $20 is imposed. What is the shortage?
   Answer: Equilibrium P = $30, Q = 40. At P = $20, Qd = 60 and Qs = 30, so the shortage is 30 units.
5. Opportunity cost. Country A can produce either 10 cars or 20 tonnes of wheat. What is the opportunity cost of one car?
   Answer: 2 tonnes of wheat. (Students who write 0.5 have inverted the ratio; that is the cost of one tonne of wheat in cars.)
6. Comparative advantage. Country A: 10 cars or 20 tonnes of wheat. Country B: 6 cars or 18 tonnes of wheat. Which country has the comparative advantage in cars?
   Answer: Country A. Its opportunity cost of a car is 2 tonnes of wheat, against 3 tonnes for B. B has the comparative advantage in wheat.
7. Spending multiplier. The MPC is 0.8. Government spending rises by $20 billion. In the simple Keynesian model, what is the maximum change in real GDP?
   Answer: Multiplier = 1/(1 − 0.8) = 5, so GDP rises by up to $100 billion.
8. Real and nominal. Nominal GDP grows by 6% and the price level rises by 4%. Approximately what is real GDP growth?
   Answer: About 2% (exactly 1.06/1.04 − 1 ≈ 1.9%). An answer of 10% shows the student added instead of subtracted.
9. Profit maximisation. A firm maximises profit where MR = MC, at 50 units. At that output, price is $8 and average total cost is $6. Calculate the profit.
   Answer: ($8 − $6) × 50 = $100 of economic profit.
10. Monetary policy. The central bank sells government bonds in the open market. State the effect on the money supply, interest rates, investment and aggregate demand.
    Answer: Money supply falls, interest rates rise, investment falls and AD shifts left (contractionary policy). Students often reverse the direction of open market operations.

Three exit tickets for each of 30 chapters, plus 60 lesson plans and 670 slides, come with the Economics Teacher Bundle.See the pack · $49

10 ready-to-use statistics exit tickets

For AP Statistics, Cambridge 9709 S1/S2, IB Maths and first-year university.

1. Mean and median. Data: 2, 3, 3, 5, 7, 10. Find the mean and median. The 10 is replaced by 40. What happens to each?
   Answer: Mean 5, median 4. With 40, the mean becomes 10 and the median stays 4. The median is resistant to outliers.
2. Transforming data. Add 5 to every value in a data set. What happens to the mean and to the standard deviation?
   Answer: The mean increases by 5; the standard deviation is unchanged, because spread does not change when every value shifts by the same amount.
3. Independent events. P(A) = 0.3 and P(B) = 0.5, and A and B are independent. Find P(A and B) and P(A or B).
   Answer: P(A and B) = 0.15; P(A or B) = 0.3 + 0.5 − 0.15 = 0.65. (0.8 shows the overlap was not subtracted.)
4. Conditional probability. Of 200 students, 120 study economics, and 45 of those also study statistics. A student is picked at random from the economics students. Find the probability they study statistics.
   Answer: 45/120 = 0.375. (45/200 = 0.225 is the joint probability, not the conditional one.)
5. Binomial. X ~ B(10, 0.2). Find P(X = 2).
   Answer: C(10, 2) × 0.2² × 0.8⁸ = 45 × 0.04 × 0.1678 ≈ 0.302.
6. Normal distribution. X ~ N(50, 8²). Find P(X > 62).
   Answer: z = (62 − 50)/8 = 1.5, so P(Z > 1.5) ≈ 0.0668. (A student who divides by 64 has used the variance instead of the standard deviation.)
7. Regression slope. A regression of test score (y) on hours of revision (x) gives ŷ = 12 + 3.5x, with r = 0.85. Interpret 3.5 in context. Does this show that revision causes higher scores?
   Answer: Each extra hour of revision is associated with a predicted score 3.5 points higher, on average. It does not prove causation: this is observational data and other factors (such as prior attainment) could explain the link.
8. Standard error. A population has σ = 12. A random sample of n = 36 is taken. Find the standard error of the sample mean.
   Answer: 12/√36 = 2.
9. Confidence intervals. A 95% confidence interval for a population mean is (48.2, 53.8). Which is correct? (A) 95% of the data lie in this interval. (B) There is a 95% chance the sample mean is in this interval. (C) If we repeated the sampling many times, about 95% of intervals made this way would contain the true mean. (D) The true mean is 51.
   Answer: C. A confuses the interval with the spread of the data; B is about the sample mean, which is certainly in the interval (it is its centre, 51); D ignores the margin of error of 2.8.
10. p-values. A test at the 5% level gives p = 0.03. Which is correct? (A) There is a 3% chance the null hypothesis is true. (B) Reject H₀: if H₀ were true, a result at least this extreme would occur about 3% of the time. (C) Accept H₁ with 97% certainty. (D) Do not reject H₀, because 0.03 is small.
    Answer: B. A and C are the classic misreadings of a p-value; D reverses the decision rule.

48 exit tickets across 16 chapters, with 32 lesson plans and a 36-week scheme of work, come with the Statistics Teacher Pack.See the pack · $39

10 ready-to-use maths and calculus exit tickets

For AP Calculus AB/BC, Cambridge 9709 Pure and IB Maths AA.

1. Power rule. Differentiate f(x) = 3x⁴ − 5x² + 7x − 2.
   Answer: f′(x) = 12x³ − 10x + 7.
2. Chain rule. Find dy/dx when y = (2x + 1)⁵.
   Answer: 10(2x + 1)⁴. (5(2x + 1)⁴ shows the inner derivative was forgotten.)
3. Product rule. Differentiate y = x²e^x.
   Answer: e^x(x² + 2x), or x(x + 2)e^x. (2xe^x shows the student multiplied the two derivatives.)
4. Tangent line. Find the equation of the tangent to y = x³ − 2x at x = 1.
   Answer: The point is (1, −1) and the gradient is 3(1)² − 2 = 1, so y = x − 2.
5. Stationary points. Find and classify the stationary points of f(x) = x³ − 3x².
   Answer: f′(x) = 3x² − 6x = 0 gives x = 0 and x = 2. f″(0) = −6, so (0, 0) is a maximum; f″(2) = 6, so (2, −4) is a minimum.
6. Indefinite integral. Find ∫(6x² − 4x + 1) dx.
   Answer: 2x³ − 2x² + x + C. (Missing + C is worth flagging every time.)
7. Definite integral. Evaluate ∫₀² (3x² + 1) dx.
   Answer: [x³ + x] from 0 to 2 = 8 + 2 = 10.
8. Limits. Find the limit of (x² − 9)/(x − 3) as x approaches 3.
   Answer: Factorise to (x + 3)(x − 3)/(x − 3) = x + 3, so the limit is 6. (“Undefined” confuses the value of the function at 3 with its limit.)
9. Exponentials and logs. Solve 2e^x = 10.
   Answer: e^x = 5, so x = ln 5 ≈ 1.609. (ln 10 / 2 means the 2 was handled wrongly.)
10. Discriminant. For what values of k does x² + kx + 9 = 0 have equal roots?
    Answer: b² − 4ac = k² − 36 = 0, so k = 6 or k = −6. (Giving only k = 6 is the common slip.)

60 exit tickets across 20 chapters, with 40 lesson plans and 458 slides, come with the Mathematics Teacher Pack.See the pack · $39

Digital exit tickets with Google Forms and Microsoft Forms

Paper is fast, but a digital ticket sorts itself and keeps a record. Google Forms and Microsoft Forms both work well, with the same basic setup.

1. Make a template once: a name field, two or three questions and an optional confidence question. Duplicate it for each lesson.
2. Turn on quiz mode and mark the correct options so the form scores itself. Hide scores from students if you want it to feel low-stakes.
3. Read the summary chart. It shows the share choosing each option, so the most popular wrong answer jumps out.
4. Keep one short-answer question for “explain why” prompts, and read those responses in the spreadsheet view.
5. Share via a QR code on the final slide, and close the form when the bell goes.

Common pitfalls, and how to avoid them

If you would rather not write every exit ticket yourself, the Complete Teacher Bundle includes three per chapter across all four subjects, with the lesson plans and slides they belong to. To see real pages first, download the free economics sample, statistics sample or mathematics sample.

Teach economics, statistics, maths or research methods? All five teacher packs and every book for $79 (was $219).Complete Teacher Bundle · $79

Frequently asked questions

How often should I use exit tickets?

As often as they change your planning: most lessons for some teachers, two or three times a week for others, at the points where a misunderstanding would derail what comes next.

Should exit tickets be graded?

Generally no. Grades encourage copying and guessing, and the value of a ticket is honest information.

What about students who always get everything right?

Add an optional extension question, such as “Now find the area between the curve and the x-axis”, so strong students also give you useful evidence.

Do exit tickets work at university level?

Yes. A two-question form at the end of a lecture gives lecturers and teaching assistants a quick read of a large group before the next tutorial.

Can I use the 30 examples in this post with my classes?

Yes. Copy them onto slides, slips or forms and adapt the numbers to suit your students.

References

1. Black, P. and Wiliam, D. (1998) “Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment”, Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), pp. 139–148.
2. Leahy, S., Lyon, C., Thompson, M. and Wiliam, D. (2005) “Classroom Assessment: Minute by Minute, Day by Day”, Educational Leadership, 63(3), pp. 19–24.
3. Wiliam, D. (2011) Embedded Formative Assessment. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
4. Rosenshine, B. (2012) “Principles of Instruction: Research-Based Strategies That All Teachers Should Know”, American Educator, 36(1), pp. 12–19, 39.
5. Education Endowment Foundation (n.d.) “Feedback”, Teaching and Learning Toolkit. Available at: educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk.