How to Build an Exit Ticket Template You'll Actually Use Every Day
A template makes gathering that evidence a habit instead of a project. The question itself also matters. Prompts that ask students to recall today's idea from memory do double duty because retrieval practice strengthens long-term retention more than rereading, as Roediger and Karpicke showed in 2006.
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Exit Ticket Template Guide
Quick answer: A useful exit ticket template has five parts: a space for the student's name and date, one question that checks today's learning target, one confidence rating, an optional "question I still have" line, and enough white space to answer in under three minutes. Keeping the same layout every day makes exit tickets faster for students and easier for teachers to sort.
Most teachers try exit tickets, and many quit within a month. The problem usually isn't the idea. It's the friction: writing a new form every day, collecting scraps of paper, and never finding time to read them. A simple, repeatable template fixes most of that.
What is an exit ticket template?
It's a reusable form, printed or digital, that students fill out in the last few minutes of class. The questions change each day, but the layout stays the same, so students know exactly what to do.
What should an exit ticket template include?
- Name and date. So you can track a student over time.
- Today's question. One prompt tied to the learning target.
- Confidence rating. A 1–4 scale: "I could teach this" to "I'm lost."
- One question I still have. Optional, but it surfaces confusion fast.
- Space limits. Enough room for two or three sentences, no more.
Why does the template matter?
Exit tickets are formative assessment, evidence teachers use to adjust instruction. Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam's influential review, Inside the Black Box, argued that strengthening formative assessment raises achievement more than most other classroom changes. A template makes gathering that evidence a habit instead of a project.
The question itself also matters. Prompts that ask students to recall today's idea from memory do double duty because retrieval practice strengthens long-term retention more than rereading, as Roediger and Karpicke showed in 2006.
How do you make exit tickets quick to read?
- Print four to a page and cut, or use a half sheet.
- Put the confidence rating in the same corner every time.
- Sort into three piles: got it, almost, not yet.
- Spend no more than five minutes reading a class set.
Paper or digital template?
Paper is fast, works without devices, and is easy to sort by hand. Digital forms sort answers automatically, which helps with large classes. Use whichever you'll stick with every day.
How do you use the results?
Start the next class with a two-minute reteach for the "not yet" group while others extend. Over a week, the confidence ratings show patterns you'd miss otherwise.
An exit ticket template and guidance on building your own are free on Daily Bell Ringers.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions should an exit ticket template have?
One main question plus a confidence rating is enough for most days.
Should exit tickets have names on them?
Usually yes, so you can follow up with individual students.
Can one template work for every subject?
Yes. The layout stays the same; only the daily question changes.
Sources
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), 139–148.
Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255.
Clay Shumate, M.Ed., is a Class A certified secondary social studies teacher (grades 6–12) and the founder of Daily Bell Ringers.
