Feedback = Got It or Not Yet, Then What’s Next

As educators, we give feedback to students on their work all the time: in the moment, daily, weekly, and at the end of a unit or year. Research about formative assessment tells us that feedback is one of the foundational practices that make a difference in student learning. But how can we make sure the guidance we're providing is truly encouraging our students' learning and growth at each interval?

Many of the activities that learners engage in during class are their initial efforts to describe, explain, generate ideas, or apply their thoughts. While we would like all subsequent attempts at these processes to be easy for our learners, we understand the challenges because we have experienced them ourselves. There are moments when trying to express ideas can leave us feeling full of questions, uncertain, unmotivated, and even disengaged.

Often educators use “not yet” as a mantra. This feedback represents assessment for learning; sometimes it can even be assessment as learning. Have you ever given a form of assessment that might have fostered disengagement or left the learner disconnected from what they studied? Tests, quizzes and homework can feel that way, particularly when we neglect to use the results – feedback – to guide what happens next instructionally. Tools like the ones just listed are sometimes employed too late and come without timely and usable feedback to allow the learner or teacher to adjust.

Effective feedback is a support for learning. It is information shared (by the teacher or peer) or discovered (by the learner). It is a combination of "not yet" coupled with "here's why" and "here's how." What formative assessment feedback strategies can we use to support, engage and encourage learners? Here are a few strategies to consider.

- Feedback needs to be timely and actionable (Brookhart, 2017) to engage learners and move them to their next step. This applies to the classroom as well as the workplace. That means, as educators and leaders, we have planned for the feedback to be used. It also means learners have time to practice what comes from the feedback (the “not yet” or “what’s next”).

- Offering improvement suggestions (Clarke, 2003) supports the "not yet" feedback. A scaffold – ("Can you describe…") uses ideas as words or phrases to lead to examples to guide the learner and may be useful feedback. An example – ("Choose one of these or your own…") has the teacher provide specific examples as feedback so the learner has a clear idea of what success looks like. Both prompts support the “not yet,” “what’s next,” and “here’s how.”

- Self- and peer-assessment are straightforward ways to teach learners to use themselves as starting points for feedback. Something like a “Glow and Grow” strategy may be a beginning in some classes. A “Glow” is something the learner did well, and a “Grow” is something the learner could improve on (“not yes”). The use of exemplars is another strategy that is useful for self-assessment. It allows learners to identify the "not yet" and “got it” elements of their work when reviewing an exemplar.

- Rubrics may be a start to a “not yet” feedback tool. When not getting lost in the weeds, rubrics offer teachers the opportunity to clarify expectations for learners (Brookhart, 2013). Learners get to set a goal for their work with guidance as to what to work on based on the characteristics outlined by the teacher. Even using a simple checklist before introducing a rubric may be a starting place.

- A progress guide, based on Brent Duckor and Carrie Holmberg’s (2024) work, may provide a way to help teachers identify patterns and show learners how to add a next step to their learning process (“next step”).

- Feedback and reflection (Lewis, 2025) are a nice pair of tools that support one another in helping learners (and workers) get better. With feedback that is specific, actionable and focused on growth, learners need time to reflect on how they are going to apply the feedback they have received. Again, build in time for this reflection (the “not yet” or “what’s next”).

- Met, Not Yet Met, I Noticed (Wray, 2013) is a strategy that focuses on aspects of quality or progress within the learner's work against criteria that have been set. The teacher places a checkmark in either the Met (M) or the Not Yet Met (NY) column based on the student's performance as compared to the criteria, then adds a brief comment in the I Noticed (IN) column that focuses on the quality or progress of the work from the last task (“not yet” or “got it”). Forms or charts may be helpful when using this strategy.

Now consider these questions.

1. What type of feedback is used in your classroom and at what frequency?
2. How do learners know where they are in their learning path?
3. What "not yet" or "what's next" are your learners engaged with?
4. Some of your learners have not experienced a classroom where making mistakes is viewed as an opportunity to learn. What structures do/can you provide that would support learners in that process?
5. How can you ensure that feedback is both timely and actionable for all learners in diverse classroom settings?

As you review the strategies and reflect on the questions, take time for some self-assessment to identify “what’s next” in your classroom practice and what tools you might be willing to try.