Ten questions?
Twenty?
Thirty?
There is no single number that works for every maths assessment.
A better question is:
How much evidence do I need to decide whether pupils understand the topic?
More questions do not necessarily mean better assessment
Twenty nearly identical calculations may provide less useful information than ten carefully chosen questions.
Quantity is only one consideration.
The type and purpose of each question matter more.
Match the length to the assessment
A quick retrieval check may need three to five questions.
A short topic test might contain five to ten.
A larger assessment may need more.
But the number of questions should always be considered alongside the amount of working required.
Ten questions as a simple model
For a short test, one possible structure is:
5 foundational questions
3 application questions
2 more challenging questions
This is MathQuizily's 5–3–2 assessment model.
It is not intended to be a universal rule.
It is simply a way of ensuring the assessment contains a deliberate spread of difficulty.
One question is not always one question
Compare:
7 × 9 = ?
with a multi-stage problem involving a graph, percentage calculation and explanation.
Both count as one question.
Their time requirements are completely different.
Complete the test yourself
One of the easiest quality checks is to solve the assessment before using it.
Consider:
how many steps each question requires;
how much reading is involved;
whether diagrams need interpreting;
how much time pupils need to show working.
Start with evidence, not page count
Don't begin by asking:
"How many questions can I fit on two pages?"
Begin with:
"What evidence do I need to see?"
Then build the assessment around that.
