Focus on Formative Assessment: Extending an Exit Pass from CFU to Review

The exit passes below are examples from those collected toward the end of a recent Humane Letters 11 period to check students' recall of factors favoring Great Britain at the beginning of the industrial revolution. 
I used them for a quick check for understanding that period, and then the next day for a quick review and formative assessment activity. Together this only took about ten minutes. 

Day One
This only took a few minutes. Perhaps three for the initial list, then 1-2 for the quick round robin.

• Exit pass (index card) handed out toward the end of the period. Students listed from memory all of the items they could recall from our discussion that period. 
• I collected the exit passes
• We then did a quick 'round robin', going as many rounds as needed to get them all. 

This kind of exercise may be limited for long-term retention, but it is excellent for checking for understanding (CFU). 

Day Two

I used the exit passes the next day to review and also to check for understanding--a quick bit of formative assessment. The following took less than five minutes at the beginning of the next period. 

• I added 'distractors' to the cards, items that were false, inaccurate, or misleading (e.g. "large population of serfs", "significant petroleum reserves").
• I had the students put their heads down. Using hand signals (thumbs up for true, thumbs down for false, thumbs sideways for unsure) they responded to the items (both what they had written the previous day and the distractors) as I read them from the cards. 
• Any incorrect or uncertain responses we discussed. Students explained their answers, with scaffolding and follow-up, as needed.  If all were in agreement a student might be asked to explain their response. 
• Any items not read were added and discussed together.