Formative Assessment with AI: Quick Checks That Actually Inform Teaching
Exit tickets, do-nows, and five-minute checks students won't dread — generated in seconds from your lesson content.
What formative assessment is supposed to do
Formative assessment isn't grading — it's signaling. A well-run quick check tells you, mid-lesson, whether the class understood the concept you just taught, so you can slow down, re-teach, or move on. The problem has always been throughput: writing a good check and marking it takes an evening, so most teachers run a fraction of the checks they'd like.
Formats that work without killing your evening
- Do-nows — three questions from yesterday's lesson to open the period
- Exit tickets — two or three items from today's lesson, answered on the way out
- Show-me boards — four quick multiple-choice items as a mid-lesson pulse
- Leveled checks — one item at Remember, one at Apply, for a 60-second spread read
The five-minute generation workflow
Paste the lesson's key points, pick a format from above, and generate. You want a short set with Bloom's levels visible so you can see at a glance whether students got the concept or just the vocabulary. That level breakdown is the difference between 'they were confused' and 'they were lost at application but fine at recall'.
What to do with the results
Sort the misses by level, not by who. If the class fails Apply questions but passes Remember, the concept was taught once and never connected — tomorrow's opener should re-model the application, not repeat the definition. If a handful of students miss across all levels, they need a smaller-group conversation. That's the loop AI makes cheap enough to run every day.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I run formative checks?
At least one pulse per lesson — an opener, a midpoint check, or an exit ticket. Daily frequency matters more than length: five minutes every day outperforms a 40-minute quiz once a week.
Do students take these with accounts?
For live checks, no. Project the quiz and students answer with a join code from any phone — no sign-up, which lowers friction and maximizes participation.
Is this free?
Examina's free plan covers 5 quizzes a month — plenty for daily checks across a couple of classes. The Team plan is built for educators with unlimited generation and a shared library.
Try it with Examina
Turn yesterday's notes into questions, flashcards, and practice you can take today.