Collecting exit tickets is easy. Doing something with them is where most teachers get stuck. The stack sits on the desk, the next day starts, and the information never reaches the lesson. It doesn't need to take long. Ten minutes is enough if you have a system.
Sort into three piles
Read each ticket once and put it in one of three piles:
Got it: the student can do the skill
Almost: close, with a small error or a gap
Not yet: the student is confused or didn't answer
Don't write comments yet. Just sort. For a class of 30, this takes about five minutes once you're used to it.
Look for patterns in the middle pile
The "almost" pile is where the useful information is. If most of those students made the same mistake, that's your reteach for tomorrow. Write the mistake on a sticky note and put it on your lesson plan.
Plan a three-way tomorrow
Use the piles to group students the next day:
Got it: an extension task or a harder problem
Almost: a quick fix with a worked example
Not yet: a short small-group lesson with you
The whole thing can take the first ten minutes of class, and it hits every student where they are.
Track it over time
Keep a simple class list and mark each student's pile for the day. After a few weeks, you'll see who is consistently in "not yet" and needs more support, and who is ready for more challenge. The exit ticket data guide has a simple tracking setup.
Don't grade every ticket
Exit tickets are a check, not a test. If you grade them, students write for the grade instead of being honest about what they don't understand. The grading exit tickets guide explains when a completion score makes sense. For the bigger picture, see formative vs. summative assessment on Elevate the Norm.
Keep going
Need something ready to use tomorrow? The Teacher Emergency Toolkit has grab-and-go packs for de-escalation, work refusal, behavior documentation, and sub plans.