How Many Questions Should be on a Test?
- Post author:Marie
- Post published:May 29, 2020
- Post category:Classroom Management / Lesson Planning / Uncategorized
- Post comments:62 Comments
Creating tests for students is a frequent aspect of teacher life. And studies have shown that more teachers create their own tests as compared to using tests that have been previously created. But sometimes it’s hard to know exactly how to formulate the perfect test. One important factor is how many questions should be on a test.
I did some research to find out what the best number of questions should be on a test and combined it with both my own school experience and teaching experience. I came up with some great information.
So how many questions should actually be on a test? The quick and easy answer is 20-25. While there is not one specific number that applies to all situations, there are a few factors that make it much easier to know what the best number is for your situation.
The two greatest factors are how much time students have to complete the test and how to find the perfect number of questions to accurately represent the level of student knowledge without overburdening them. I will go over both of these issues as well as a few other pros and cons of how many questions should actually be on a test.
Table of Contents
Some Preliminary Thoughts
Generally speaking, nobody likes taking tests. At least not the academic kind. But since tests are a necessary part of life, the question then becomes how many questions should be on a test.
I know that for me personally, I liked more questions rather than fewer questions. I knew that if I had mastered most of the material I could answer most of the questions correctly. But if I got stumped by one particularly difficult question, getting it wrong on a longer test would not be worth nearly as many points as getting it wrong on a short test.
It used to devastate me to get one or two questions wrong on a 10-question test. Each wrong answer would drop me by one letter grade. The pressure was amazingly high! I know, I was a little bit too OCD about my grades in school. But for many students, that is a big deal, especially if they are within a couple of points of a grade going up or down.
What Everybody Thinks About Testing
I mentioned above that generally speaking nobody really likes to take an academic test. But maybe I was not exactly right about that. Surprisingly, I found a survey taken on Gallup that talks about how students, teachers, parents, and administrators feel about the frequency of tests in the classroom. Here is the chart recording the results:
What I found most surprising about this Gallop poll is that students seemed to be more satisfied with the current testing “status quo” than anyone else surveyed!
Interestingly enough, I do remember having anxiety before tests. I was afraid I would not have learned everything the teacher wanted me to learn. But on the flip side I was also eager to see what my own level of mastery was.
So maybe these issues explain what is in play in this Gallup poll. Maybe the students are happy that they are tested at the level they are because it allows them to gauge their own mastery.
Also, they may prefer more frequent testing because the pool of knowledge they would have to know would be smaller.
Unfortunately, beyond guessing, I can’t tell you why they answered the way they did. It would have been interesting to find out exactly why they answered the way they did.
If you are interested in checking out the rest of the Gallup poll information, clickhere.
So What’s the Number?!?
So based on the research I did as well as my own student/teacher experience in life, I believe that the optimal number of questions on a test is 20-25. That means that questions are worth only 4-5 points each.
When you have that many questions and get stumped, many times students can read through the other questions to get hints about the answer you are trying to get to. It may not even be directly related to the question you are trying to answer. Maybe the thought of those other questions remind you of the information you learned surrounding the question that stumped you.
Arriving at this number was originally just my opinion and experience. So then what is everyone else saying? I did a very unscientific survey of my now adult kids. Unequivocally they all said 25 questions rather than 10 for the same reasons listed above.
But now was that result because they are my kids and I raised them that way? Possibly, but I don’t necessarily think so because they are all post college, so they had lots of school experience outside of my world. So I then branched my survey out to my kids’ significant others, who had the same answers.
The Time Factor
As I explained in the beginning, the amount of time a student has to complete a test is critical to the number of questions on a test. But maybe not as much as we think. if time is short, you definitely can’t create a test with 25 essay questions. But you can utilize other forms of questions–multiple choice, short answer, or even matching terms. I am not a fan of true/false questions for reasons I will cover in another article.
But the bottom line here is that if you don’t have a large block of time to administer a test to your students, you can still do a longer form test and get a fuller picture of their knowledge level by shortening their response time.
As long as your questions are still reasonably challenging without “tricking” your students, you will still get a good understanding of their knowledge level in spite of their shortened responses.
The Well-Rounded Knowledge Factor
The other factor I mentioned with regard to how many questions should be on a test was how many questions you need to show a well-rounded knowledge mastery. Many times 10 questions will do the job, but 20-25 will dig deeper to find out how nuanced the students’ knowledge is. Extending the questions to more than double gives the teacher a much larger ability to find the gaps in learning and then fill them in before moving on to the next material.
And when the teacher is able to fill in those gaps, the students are ready to move on knowing that they are ready. That will make more motivated students who aren’t afraid of the upcoming material!
What are the Benefits of 20-25 Questions on a Test?
The biggest benefit that I have already mentioned is that having this many questions on a test allows you to get a greater understanding of your students level of knowledge. You can ask them questions based on a much wider cross section of information. And then you will discover how well-rounded their understanding actually is.
Another benefit to having more questions on the test is that you will be giving the majority of your students confidence in what they are learning. And they generally will not leave the classroom feeling like they could have either done really well or really poorly but have no idea which one it is.
When they test with a larger number of questions, they will have better intuition on how they performed on the test. And that could help alleviate some of their anxiety while waiting for the results. Unless, of course, you grade the tests in class during the class period.
Related Questions
How long should it take to finish a 25-question test?
If you give students an average of 30 seconds to one minute to answer the questions, then the average time to finish a test of this size would be around 15-30 minutes. Of course, some questions would take more time and some less.
How much time does it take to answer different kinds of questions on a test?
The average time to answer various questions on a test is as follows:
- Multiple choice: 1 minute
- Short Answer: 2 minutes
- Essay Question: 10-15 minutes
If you liked this article, I think you will also like these other articles:
What is Inquiry-based Learning and Why Will Your Students Love It?
What is Universal Design for Learning?
The Madeline Hunter Lesson Plan: Should We Still Be Using It?
Problem-based Learning: Boosting Your Students’ Success in the Real World
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This Post Has 62 Comments
♡Stephanie Stebbins♡ (@stephsteb) May 29, 2020Reply
Very interesting. 20-25 is about what all of my tests were!
Ankur May 29, 2020Reply
Interesting read, I agree with you completely 20-25mins is apt for a test. Personally I never liked the longer tests, they were just exhausting and not really effective.
Brianne May 29, 2020Reply
This was an interesting read. I’ve honestly never considered how many questions should be on a test. I always thought that teachers just sort of put as many as were needed to cover the material.
Marie May 30, 2020Reply
I always thought that too, Brianne, until it was time for me to start making tests! All of a sudden I realized how much more there was to it.
Daniel Sierra May 29, 2020Reply
As a teacher this is one of the biggest question I always ask myself. Not enough questions? Too easy? too hard? haha I always ended up making just 15-20 questions on my exams.
Marie May 30, 2020Reply
I did the same, Daniel. I was always afraid of gaps in the earlier years. Now I don’t sweat it. 🙂 And 15-20 is a good number!
TheSuperMomLife May 29, 2020Reply
I’m not a huge fan of testing. I do believe that the number of questions depend on the subject and the age of the kids taking the test.
tweenselmom May 30, 2020Reply
I never though about that, very interesting. I just know that the questions should always be related to the subject and the teacher knows that the students understood the lesson.
Ronnie E. May 30, 2020Reply
20-25 sounds like a reasonable amount to test a student’s knowledge on the subject. More than that and it’s overwhelming and unnecessary. Plus, more questions also means more time grading tests…
Lyosha Varezhkina May 30, 2020Reply
Interesting! Looking at tests I am taking now and back in school/uni I understand I liked 20 questions test the most. not too long, not too short (you have a room for error, which is making you feel safer). great post and topic, very helpful for teachers
Marie May 30, 2020Reply
Your perspective is exactly the same as mine, Lyosha! Thank you for sharing.
Krysten (@WeirdGirlBlog) May 30, 2020Reply
Huh, it’s like a science.
Not that this was in middle school but in college I had this HORRIBLE multiple answer final. It was a 2 hour test with 300 questions. By the end my eyes felt like they were crossing and my brain just wanted me to start filling in any bubble so I could be DONE. Not a good way to test someone.
Marie May 30, 2020Reply
Yessss! Those tests are miserable! I had this one science test in 7th grade that was only about 50 questions but after studying my heart out, I failed it (I was a mostly A student). I was devastated. In my school we took tests until we could pass with an 80% or higher. So I studied again. Every single question and exercise in the book. And failed it again. The third time, my father went over every question in the book with me. Assured me that I knew it and would pass. And I failed again with a 76. My teacher let me move on. For whatever reason, the test was just so weirdly worded that I couldn’t do a thing about it.
Krysten Quiles September 9, 2020Reply
That makes me so sad. I feel like tests should not be like that. Yes, you should have to study and know your stuff, but you shouldn’t fail 3 times after studying your heart out!
Marie September 12, 2020Reply
At least I can look back at it now and laugh. 🙂
Papa Jack May 30, 2020Reply
This is so funny I remember when I was taking a very long test all day in high school. You reminded me of those days. Thank you.
Marie May 30, 2020Reply
I hope it was a fond memory. 🙂
Kenny Ngo May 30, 2020Reply
Never even thought it mattered. I’m used to 100 question tests from my school.
Marie May 30, 2020Reply
As long as the 100 questions are quick to answer those wouldn’t really bother me. I could get 10 wrong and still get an A!
pipermortez May 30, 2020Reply
Interesting article. When I was at school it always felt like tests has about 100 questions. As a teacher this is something to pay attention to.
Warp Speed Odyssey May 30, 2020Reply
That makes lot of sense what you explain and I agree that 20-25 questions is a good amount of questions.
Michelle May 30, 2020Reply
That is a very interesting Gallup poll. I never would have guessed the students would have been the satisfied ones. Ha ha! For my college students I prefer more frequent quizzing and less focus on finals.
Marie May 30, 2020Reply
I love the idea of frequent quizzing instead of a heavily weighted final. And I am still shocked at the students’ response on that poll. 🙂
The JOYOUS Living | Influencer (@thejoyousliving) May 30, 2020Reply
i had no idea. that 20-25 questions was the optimal number. i wonder how many i would pose my students when i was a teacher? thanks for advising.
World In Eyes May 31, 2020Reply
Very interesting! The number of question should be according to time, we are used to of 3 hours exam paper with 25 objective type questions, 7-8 short answer questions and 2 Long answer question with A, B & C parts.
Marie May 31, 2020Reply
That is what final exams are like here. Tests are usually done in much less time.
Elizabeth O May 31, 2020Reply
That was an interesting question to ask. I agreed that 20-25 questions everyday or how easy or hard is it.
Gervin Khan May 31, 2020Reply
To be honest, I have never experienced taking a 20-25 questions on a test before but I don’t mind it as long as those questions are base on subject that we tackled. This is interesting!
littlemisadvencha May 31, 2020Reply
This is very interesting. When I had my board exam, we were only given 4 hrs to complete a 100-item computational exam. and there were 3 sets of it consecutively for 2 days. How was it? Pressure and discipline. hehe. glad you made some points here. thank you for sharing!
Marie May 31, 2020Reply
Wow, I bet you were glad to be done with that exam!!! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Subhashish Roy May 31, 2020Reply
This is a very interesting analysis. How many teachers have actually analyzed this is a big question though. Tests are about assessing skills and knowledge and not to put students in a tight spot.
Marie May 31, 2020Reply
Exactly. Putting students in a “tight spot” is so much more harmful to them. Thank you for sharing!
elishaff May 31, 2020Reply
The hardest test I’ve ever taken was the ACT. With the four different sections, it took some practice with time management, destressing, and learning the materials so I could do well. I can say with certainty I never want to take a timed Mathematics test again LOL
Marie June 1, 2020Reply
I agree. I took both the SAT and the ACT and the ACT was much harder. I would never want to go back to that time in my life!!!
Jessica Collazo May 31, 2020Reply
Is good to know that for everything there is a formula. I don’t quite remember how many questions my test had,at least my school years.
I remember my University test they were more stronger and longer. But I think that 20 questions on a school test is more than enough. It helps the students and it helps you has a teacher.emilhy June 1, 2020Reply
im not a huge fan of tests and so glad that i have got all my studies out of the way with! the less questions, the better lol
Marie June 1, 2020Reply
Haha, I hear ya!
Melanie Sevcik June 4, 2020Reply
Great info-thank you!
Ashley T September 9, 2020Reply
I’ve never put any thought into how many questions should be on a test but this article makes me think. Great information.
Matt Taylor September 9, 2020Reply
That is so funny, right when I read the question, I immediately thought to myself 25. haha. 10 for quizzes and 25 for tests. Great reasoning behind why those are good numbers to have.
Kileen September 10, 2020Reply
What a great and informative post on test questions! I’ve always wondered what the golden number is and this was interesting read.
Kileen
cute & littleAnn September 10, 2020Reply
I so agree with you, if the test had lesser questions I might have made it in school. Or atleast divide the test into to several smaller parts, that would have worked to
Gervin Khan September 10, 2020Reply
Wow! This is a great topic as we are going to the new norm of online schooling. Every school and teacher should consider your arguments here as it is very logical and rational to do. Thanks for sharing this to us.
Sundeep September 10, 2020Reply
According to me the number of questions totally depends on the subject as well as on time basis. This is very useful and detailed article every teacher needs to read this article.
Margaret | Live Like No One Else September 10, 2020Reply
How interesting how there is a science to almost everything, including tests. Like some of your commenters, I too thought that you just include however many questions are necessary to cover material that is covered in class.
When I was in college, my friend and I were always competing to see who finished a test first..fun memories.
Ntensibe Edgar September 10, 2020Reply
Hhhhmmmm….I say “5” and they should be given a time-frame of 1 hour, to be responded to.
Mosaics Lab September 10, 2020Reply
You reminded me of my uni days when I used to take 180 questions tests, 20 to 25 would be perfect for sure.
Emily Fata September 10, 2020Reply
It’s interesting to see how the numbers fluctuate so much between different perspectives. I suppose a middle ground would be what’s best!
The Joyous Living September 10, 2020Reply
Looks like we agree! When I taught I would use 20-21 questions for standard quizzes and tests.
Mae September 11, 2020Reply
This is very interesting! When I was in school, I’ve always hated long exams. It gets too boring when you have over 100 test questions, and I thought 20-30 should be more than enough.
annas September 11, 2020Reply
Such a fresh topic! I never thought about it and your article gave me something to ponder on, thanks 🙂
Kristine Nicole Alessandra September 11, 2020Reply
I always hated long exams. The risk of making mistakes towards the end of the test is high because you are already mentally exhausted. I agree with you that 20-25 questions is ideal. The duration of the test would depend on the type and subject.
Lyanna Soria September 11, 2020Reply
What an interesting topic and quite helpful as well especially for teachers. Long quiz were a pain back then and stressful too as a student.
katrina Kroeplin September 11, 2020Reply
great information. it’s hard to say and it think it depends on the test.
Jessica Collazo September 11, 2020Reply
Is good to know that he has to be 20 to 25 questions in each test. I’m remember that my mom used to make test because she was a teacher and I remembered that was exactly some of the numbers that she used to have for the questions.
Lucy Clarke September 11, 2020Reply
It’s great to see how you effectively utilize questions to also find out if there are gaps in knowledge. This will be very useful in figuring out the best way to support and review them on the topic.
Kathy Kenny Ngo September 11, 2020Reply
100 should be tops in my opinion. Maybe I’m old school but that’s how I see it.
Celebrate Woman Today September 11, 2020Reply
I really appreciate the steps you’ve taken a reader to understand what lies behind a test.
The screenshot with statistical data actually surprised me.Emman Damian September 11, 2020Reply
I think 50 or 100 are the usual standards. Given that it should be a 1 hour exam, I think 50 questions are good. More time allotted, I think 100 would be good.
Joanna September 13, 2020Reply
The time factor is indeed very important when you decide how many questions a test will have. If students need to solve complicated mathematical problems, then of course 20 questions would be too much for a 50 minutes test. If they need to pick the correct answer only then 25 might be too little.
Karen October 5, 2021Reply
Could you please provide the research you found? Thank you!
Marie October 7, 2021Reply
Hi Karen, I researched based on an NWEA/ Gallup survey done in 2016. I had that captioned underneath the chart near the beginning of the article, but I didn’t emphasize it in the article. My apologies. Have a good day!
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