Teachers often need to assess pupil thinking in ways that go beyond multiple choice or structured answer formats. They may also need to create problems aligned to specific standards that are not yet available on the platform.
This feature allows teachers to design their own questions whilst still benefiting from AI-powered marking and feedback.
What it is
Within CYOP (Create Your Own Problems), teachers can now build open-ended response questions that are:
Fully customisable
Automatically marked using AI
Flexible in expected answer types and formats
This enables a wider range of mathematical thinking and pupil expression.
How it works
When creating a problem in CYOP (Create Your Own Problems):
Select Open-ended response as the problem type
Write your question — this can be a written explanation, a multi-step reasoning prompt, or any problem where pupils express their thinking
Set your expected answer criteria if needed
Assign it as you would any other problem
Once pupils submit:
Responses are evaluated by AI based on mathematical correctness and reasoning structure
Results are marked automatically and appear in your heatmap alongside other problems
You can still open and review individual pupil responses if you wish to add your own feedback or override a mark
When to use it
This feature is particularly useful when:
A standard is not covered by existing Magma content
You want pupils to explain their reasoning rather than select an answer
You are working with multiple valid solution methods or answer types
Notes
AI marking evaluates mathematical correctness and reasoning structure
Teachers can still review responses if needed
Best used for problems where explanation or justification is expected