Check every student

The 60-second card

The finding

Teachers who see every student's answer several times a lesson catch mistakes before they set, and their students learn more.

Do this

Ask a question, have every student answer at once (whiteboards, all-write, cold call), scan, and reteach on the spot if many miss it.

Best evidence

A randomized trial in 140 English secondary schools and about 25,000 students trained teachers in these routines. Students gained about two extra months of progress on their overall GCSE scores, with a very high security rating (EEF(opens in a new tab)).

+2 months

of GCSE progress in a 140-school randomized trial

The 5-minute brief

Why it works

A raised hand tells you what one student knows. A room of whiteboards tells you what thirty know. Rosenshine found the most effective teachers asked many questions, checked the answers of all students, and spent more time on guided practice (American Educator, 2012(opens in a new tab)). Every answer is also a small retrieval attempt, which strengthens memory (principle 6).

What it looks like

Grade band	In practice
K–2	"Show me the number that comes after 14 on your fingers. Three, two, one, show."
3–5	Every student writes the answer on a whiteboard; teacher scans, names two common errors, reteaches.
6–8	Cold call after 10 seconds of think time, then all students write a one-sentence answer.
9–12	Hinge question with four answer choices; students hold up a letter card; teacher decides whether to move on.

Common mistakes

Calling on volunteers only. The students who most need checking are the ones who don't raise hands.
Checking but not acting. If half the room misses it, the plan for the next 10 minutes should change.
Turning checks into grades. These are for teaching decisions, not the gradebook.

What a leader looks for in 5 minutes

Is every student answering, or only a few?
When answers are wrong, does the teacher reteach right then?