In the 11+ exam, every parent knows that two things matter: speed and accuracy. Work too slowly, and you won’t finish the paper. Work too quickly, and you’ll make careless mistakes. This creates a frustrating dilemma: how do you find the perfect balance?
Your child has just finished a maths mock exam. You mark it and find they scored 75%. What does that number actually tell you about their speed or accuracy? The truth is, not much. The final score is a blunt instrument; it shows the result, but it hides the story.
If you truly want to unlock your child’s potential and solve the speed vs. accuracy puzzle, you need to look beyond the percentage and focus on a far more powerful metric: Time-per-Question (TPQ).
At elevenplus.com, we believe that analysing how your child spends their time is the key to understanding their performance. This guide will teach you how to measure and interpret this crucial data point to make smarter decisions about your child’s 11+ preparation.
In this definitive guide, you will learn:
- What Time-per-Question (TPQ) is and why it’s the key to balancing speed and accuracy.
- What a long TPQ vs. a short TPQ can reveal about your child’s skills.
- A simple, practical method for measuring TPQ at home.
- How to use this data to create a laser-focused revision plan.
What is Time-per-Question (TPQ)?
TPQ is simply the amount of time your child spends on an individual question. In a typical 50-minute maths paper with 50 questions, the average TPQ is 60 seconds.
Analysing where your child deviates from this average is where the magic happens. It turns you into a data detective, able to diagnose the root cause of a problem with incredible accuracy.
The Story Behind the Numbers: What TPQ Reveals
By looking at the TPQ for both correct and incorrect answers, you can uncover hidden patterns and understand whether the core issue is speed, accuracy, or something else entirely.
Scenario 1: The Fluency Problem (Good Accuracy, Poor Speed)
- The Data: Long TPQ + Correct Answer
- What it looks like: Your child spends 2-3 minutes on a complex word problem but eventually gets it right.
- What it tells you: They understand the topic, but they lack efficiency. They are having to work too hard, using up precious time and mental energy.
- The Solution: They don’t need to re-learn the topic. They need practice with a specific framework (like our R.U.D.E. method) and drills on core skills (like times tables) to improve their speed.
Scenario 2: The Knowledge Gap (Poor Accuracy, Poor Speed)
- The Data: Long TPQ + Incorrect Answer
- What it looks like: They spend 3 minutes on a question and still get it wrong.
- What it tells you: This is the clearest sign of a knowledge gap. They don’t understand the underlying concept and are trying to guess their way to a solution.
- The Solution: This topic needs to be re-taught from the ground up. No amount of timed practice will help until the foundational knowledge is secure.
Scenario 3: The Rushing Problem (Good Speed, Poor Accuracy)
- The Data: Short TPQ + Incorrect Answer
- What it looks like: They answer a question in 20 seconds and get it wrong.
- What it tells you: This is a classic “silly mistake.” The child likely understands the topic but has rushed, misread the question, or made a simple calculation error.
- The Solution: They need to practice their accuracy and checking skills. Our “Accuracy Game” techniques are designed specifically for this problem.
Scenario 4: The Gold Standard (Good Speed, Good Accuracy)
- The Data: Short TPQ + Correct Answer
- What it looks like: They answer a question correctly in 30 seconds.
- What it tells you: This is a sign of mastery. They are fluent and confident in this topic area.
- The Solution: Celebrate this! And don’t waste time revising this topic. Their time is better spent on the areas identified above.
[Image: A screenshot of the elevenplus.com analytics dashboard, showing a list of questions with colour-coded indicators for correctness and a clear “Time Taken” column.]
How to Measure TPQ at Home
While our elevenplus.com platform tracks this automatically, you can easily measure TPQ yourself.
- Get a Stopwatch: Use the stopwatch on your phone.
- Time Each Question: When your child starts a practice paper, have them say “start” when they begin a question and “stop” when they have their final answer.
- Record the Time: Jot down the time taken for each question next to their answer on a separate sheet of paper.
- Analyse the Results: Once the paper is marked, you will have three data points for every question: the question itself, whether it was right or wrong, and the time taken. You can now look for the patterns described above.
From Vague Worries to Clear Actions
By focusing on Time-per-Question, you move away from the vague frustration of a disappointing score and towards a clear, actionable plan. You stop asking “Is the problem speed or accuracy?” and start understanding exactly what the issue is for each topic.
This data-driven approach allows you to target your revision with surgical precision, ensuring every moment is spent on the work that will have the biggest impact on their final score. It is the single most effective way to work smarter, not harder.
Ready to see the power of TPQ analysis for yourself?
➡️ Our interactive quizzes and mock exams on elevenplus.com automatically track the time taken for every single question, providing you with instant, detailed reports that take the guesswork out of your child’s revision.
