diff --git a/question/engine/tests/helpers.php b/question/engine/tests/helpers.php
index 407374e8562..4b44895bde4 100644
--- a/question/engine/tests/helpers.php
+++ b/question/engine/tests/helpers.php
@@ -574,6 +574,7 @@ abstract class question_testcase extends advanced_testcase {
         $dom = new DOMDocument();
         $dom->loadHTML($html);
         $selects = $dom->getElementsByTagName('select');
+        $this->assertGreaterThanOrEqual(1, $selects->count(), 'There is no <select> in the output.');
         foreach ($selects as $select) {
             if ($select->getAttribute('name') == $expectation->name) {
                 $options = $select->getElementsByTagName('option');