Download Math Exit Ticket (Grades 1–2, addition)
Download Math Exit Ticket (Grades 3–4, finding quotients)
Download Math Exit Ticket (Grades 3–4, distributive property)
Download Math Exit Ticket (Grades 5–6, evaluate an expression)
Download Math Exit Ticket (Algebra 1)
Thumbs Up/Down
Ideally, formative assessment checks in on student progress quickly and adaptively. One technique to try is to have students use a thumbs-up/down technique. It commonly looks like this. The teacher presents a problem or makes a statement, and then students react using their thumbs. Thumbs up means “I’ve got this.” Thumbs down means “I’m confused.” This can be a fast method to divide students into groups or to determine whether you are free to continue with the lesson or need to stop and slow down. It is also a way to add physical movement to the classroom, a potential aid to learning. In Judy Willis’ 2007 book Brain-Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom, she clarifies that the simple act of having students physically gesture with their hands “has the added benefit of linking the material to be learned with sensory input, thereby increasing access to the brain’s memory banks.”
There are many ways to extend this idea. The thumbs expressions can have different meanings, for example one problem’s thumbs-down reaction could mean “the solution is incorrect.” Many teachers include a thumb to the middle (that is, pointing to the side) for students who feel between thumbs-up and thumbs-down. Students could also use other hand gestures, for example holding up three fingers to mean, “I have something to say.” Ultimately you get to decide what the hand gestures mean and when you want to use them.
In-Class Discussions
Discussions in and of themselves are not necessarily assessments. But they can be! Discussions can reveal misconceptions and help guide teachers in what to teach next. Facilitating classroom discourse with and among students can be a form of formative assessment. Teachers must constantly make moment-by-moment classroom decisions like “should I ask a follow-up question?” or “what’s another way of showing this concept?” In-class discussions are a way for teachers to come up with quick answers, check in on student knowledge, and figure out how to proceed.
Just because in-class discussions aren’t formal, that doesn’t mean they can’t be prepared for. Teachers can build formative assessment opportunities into classroom conversations by being strategic about what questions to use. Being cognizant of your students’ most common errors and referencing program teacher guides can be invaluable.
Homework
The structure and frequency of homework will no doubt vary depending on the student, teacher, and school. However, when a class environment permits it, homework does not need to be graded for performance and can instead be leveraged as a tool for students to think through problems on their own pace and for you to check in on their strengths and challenges. Homework becomes in effect a guide for your teaching. Education professor Cathy Vatterott offers her perspective in Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs: ”The current consensus is that homework should be formative assessment that helps prepare students for summative assessment. Therefore, in a truly standards-based system, homework is not graded [but] is reviewed and feedback is given.”
In this vein, homework is not usually rote practice of what was learned that class. Instead it becomes a way for students to independently explore new ideas. In fact, homework doesn’t always need to be directly related to the skill or concept being taught! Homework can be an opportunity for students to learn deeply about topics they’re already interested in that already have rich mathematical connections, for example sports, homebuilding, fashion design, or entrepreneurship.
Polls
Trying to figure out what your students should do next? Ask them! Polls can be administered during or after any classroom activity. They also work well whether the teaching is in person or online. They can range from a variation of an exit ticket (“What do you think the solution is?”) to metacognitive reflections (“How do you feel about this math topic?”).
Polls are an especially flexible tool. Teachers can exploit polls to cater to many specific instructional purposes in mind. As examples, polls can do the following:
- Give the teacher a status check by polling student confidence
- Stimulate discussion with questions having multiple reasonable answers
- Quickly assess prior knowledge
- Elicit a misconception
These are powerful tools that grab students’ attention and, depending on how the polls are used, can foster the activation of other formative assessment strategies.
KWL Chart
A KWL chart is a tool that students can use to organize their knowledge. It can broadly be used across any subject, as it helps students to synthesize what they know (K), what they want to know (W), and what they have learned (L) about a topic. In math class, a KWL chart can be a valuable opportunity for students to take a step back and reflect on their learning avoid thinking that mathematics is just a “series of steps” but rather a world of connected ideas.
The KWL chart is useful as formative assessment in the classroom. It allows the teacher to find out students’ prior knowledge on a particular topic and then gear upcoming lessons based upon this information. The KWL chart can be completed when starting a new topic and be added to throughout the unit. Further, when planning across a year, the teacher is able to find out what the students have learned by the end of their lessons.
