Ten formative checks for the last ten minutes of a lesson

The last ten minutes of a lesson can slip away in packing up. Used for a check, they tell you who has understood, who is nearly there and where to start next time. Here are ten checks, each with when it works best, one pitfall and what the research or guidance says. Pick one or two that suit your subject, rather than all ten.

Checks where every pupil answers at once

These three show you the whole class in seconds. Research on 'response cards', such as write-on boards, compares them with hand-raising. In a 1990 study in one US fourth-grade class, most of the 20 pupils scored higher on daily quizzes after lessons with boards than after lessons with hand-raising. A 2007 meta-analysis found large effects on test scores, quiz scores and participation, with no significant difference between types of card. A 2023 update found gains for pupils in both special and general education.

1. Mini-whiteboards

Every pupil writes an answer and holds it up on your signal. It works best for a word, a number or a quick sketch, such as 'Write 3/8 as a decimal' in Year 6 maths. Pitfall: long answers cannot be read at a glance. Dylan Wiliam notes that if each of 30 pupils writes more than three words, you have over 100 words to read.

2. True or false cards

Read out a statement and every pupil shows a green card for true or a red card for false. It works best on a single misconception, such as 'Multiplying always makes a number bigger' in Year 7 maths. Pitfall: a pupil who guesses is right half the time, so use several statements and ask one pupil to justify each answer.

3. Hinge questions

A multiple-choice question in which each wrong answer points to a specific misunderstanding; the DfE framework names hinge questions as a way to pinpoint knowledge gaps. It works best on the one idea the next lesson depends on, such as converting binary to denary in Year 10 computing. It is usually asked mid-lesson, but at the end it tells you where to start tomorrow. Pitfall: Wiliam calls it 'practically impossible' to invent a good multiple-choice question on the fly, so draft them in advance and share them across the department.

Checks that leave you something to read

These take a few minutes and give more detail. Harry Fletcher-Wood notes that exit tickets give you '24 hours breathing space' to plan, whereas with a hinge question you must respond on the spot.

4. Exit tickets

Pupils answer one to three questions on a slip and hand it in as they leave. It works best when the questions target the lesson's objective, such as 'Give two reasons why Henry VIII broke with Rome' in Year 8 history. Pitfall: a pile of slips you never act on, so sort them into three piles and open the next lesson with the biggest gap. In one university statistics course, a section that answered a few questions at the end of each lecture scored higher on exams than a section that did not.

5. 3-2-1

Pupils write three things they learned, two things they already knew and one thing they would like to find out. It works best as an occasional reflection at the end of a unit, such as a Year 11 English unit on a set text. Pitfall: the first prompt is loose. Fletcher-Wood tries to avoid this format for exit tickets because that looseness makes it unlikely you will find out whether pupils understood the key aspects of the lesson.

6. One-minute paper

Pupils write for one minute on two questions: the most important thing they learned, and the question that remains unanswered. It suits older pupils, such as a Year 12 economics class, since the evidence comes from university teaching. Pitfall: overuse. A review of its use in universities judged the benefits sizeable for the effort, but found that response rates fell quickly over two lecture series.

Checks built on talk

Talk lets you hear reasoning, which a letter on a card cannot show. It samples fewer pupils, so pair it with one of the checks above.

7. Cold call

Ask the question, give everyone time to think, then choose who answers, hand up or not. It works best for 'why' follow-ups, such as 'Why did William win the Battle of Hastings?' in Year 7 history. Pitfall: naming the pupil first; Wiliam notes that once pupils know who will answer, 'all the other students can relax'. In undergraduate business classes with frequent cold-calling, more students volunteered answers and their comfort in discussion grew.

8. Think-pair-share

Pupils think alone, discuss with a partner, then share with the class. It works best before a cold call, or before a revote on a hard multiple-choice question in Year 9 science. Pitfall: pupils may simply adopt a confident partner's answer, so ask everyone to commit to an answer first. In a university genetics course, discussion improved understanding even when no one in the group had known the answer at the start.

Checks that ask pupils to rate or recall

The last two work differently. One asks pupils how well they think they understand; the other asks them to remember.

9. Traffic lights

Pupils show red, amber or green for how well they understand today's idea, such as loops in Year 8 computing. It works best when you set aside time to help the reds; Marnie Thompson and Wiliam warn that without it, the technique 'will simply result in frustration'. Pitfall: a colour shows confidence, not understanding, so add a question. In two studies with college students, those who judged their own answers more accurately remembered more two days later.

10. A short quiz

Ask three to five low-stakes questions on today's lesson and one on last month's. It works best as retrieval practice: a 2021 systematic review of 50 classroom experiments found benefits across education levels and subjects. The EEF's 2021 review was more cautious, rating the evidence for quizzing against no recap as 'moderate and generally positive'. Pitfall: questions so hard that pupils retrieve nothing; the EEF says pupils 'should be able to retrieve at least some of the content'.

How to choose between them

• To decide before the bell: mini-whiteboards, true or false cards or a hinge question.
• To plan tomorrow in detail: an exit ticket or a one-minute paper.
• To hear reasoning: think-pair-share, then a cold call.
• To help the lesson stick: a short quiz, with one question repeated a week or two later; the DfE framework notes that spacing practice is likely to strengthen recall.
• To hear pupils reflect on their learning: traffic lights or 3-2-1, always with one question beside them.

Keep every check low stakes. Of electronic voting systems, Wiliam notes that a record of every response 'seems to be at variance' with the classroom as 'a safe place for making mistakes'.

The EEF's feedback guidance names several of these checks, including mini-whiteboards, true or false cards, hinge questions and exit passes. It also says there 'may be limited evidence for the use of specific strategies'. The studies above differ in age and setting, so treat each check as a routine to test in your own classroom.

Try it on Monday

1. Pick one class and one check from this list that suits your subject.
2. Write the questions or statements before the lesson, not during it.
3. Stop teaching ten minutes before the bell, and explain the routine the first time you use it.
4. Run the check and note one thing you did not expect.
5. Sort the answers into three piles: got it, nearly, not yet.
6. Open the next lesson with what the 'not yet' pile needs.
7. Use the same check for two weeks before you decide whether to keep it.