Student Survey Questions: Examples and Best Practices

Student surveys are a valuable tool for gathering feedback and insights from students, teachers, and parents. These surveys provide crucial information that can be used to improve the learning environment, teaching methods, and overall student experience. Institutions like the US Department of Education and Harvard Graduate School of Education understand the value of good education surveys.

What are NAEP Survey Questionnaires?

NAEP survey questionnaires are given to students, teachers, and school administrators who participate in a NAEP assessment. These questionnaires collect additional information about students’ demographics and educational experiences. Responses to the questionnaires provide important information for educators, policymakers, and researchers to better understand the context in which students learn, and, in turn, can help improve education in our nation's classrooms.

Topics Covered in NAEP Survey Questionnaires

NAEP survey questionnaires include questions about students’ opportunities to learn both in and out of the classroom as well as questions about students’ educational experiences, such as their study habits. NAEP ensures that the questions are grounded in educational research and that the responses can provide information relevant to the subject being assessed.

Development and Review Process

NAEP survey questions are developed and reviewed by survey experts, education researchers, teachers, and statisticians to ensure that the information collected is relevant and valid in helping policymakers, researchers, educators, and the public understand student achievement results. Draft questions are tested first among small groups of student, teacher, and school administrator participants and then piloted in larger samples of participants before final selection.

Anonymity and Privacy

All participants in the NAEP assessment are assigned a unique identification number to ensure that they cannot be linked to any personally identifiable information such as name or address. NAEP is not designed to report on individual student or school responses. After survey questionnaires have been completed, individual student responses are combined with other student responses by grade level (4, 8, and 12) and subject. Results are reported for the nation, states, and districts that participate in the Trial Urban District Assessment. Whenever feasible, NAEP reports also provide survey questionnaire results for specific student groups (e.g., by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, disability, and English learner status).

Usage of NAEP Survey Data

Reports created from survey questionnaire data help explain students’ learning opportunities and experiences. Information collected from NAEP survey questionnaires can be used to contribute to decisions about education policy that may improve schools and promote student progress across the nation. Knowing how students perform on NAEP assessments and exploring patterns, such as how different student groups perform over time, are important steps in measuring educational equity. NAEP survey questionnaires provide information to help better understand the context in which students learn, which aids in improving the educational system.

Reasons for Specific Questions

NAEP asks students to provide information about race and ethnicity to better determine how well education is meeting the needs of all students and to fulfill reporting requirements of federal legislation. NAEP also asks students to provide information about socioeconomic status (SES) to fulfill reporting requirements of federal legislation. SES is made up of three main components: income/wealth, education, and occupation. NAEP does not directly ask about income but instead asks questions about possessions.

The Importance of Student Surveys

Student surveys are great tools for gathering valuable insights to implement changes in a school or university environment. The data collected from student questionnaires allows administrators and other educational leaders to make informed decisions. Student survey templates collect student feedback on any aspect of the learning process. Student surveys can include questions about teaching quality, course evaluations, facilities, satisfaction, and many other topics. Administrators and educators can use student feedback to identify and fix student experience issues.

Benefits of Conducting Student Surveys

Teacher Evaluation: Use surveys as an effective teacher evaluation tool. Ask students questions that gather feedback on educator effectiveness, including lessons and teaching style. Additionally, these surveys can gauge how students feel about faculty members and help you address any complaints. Teachers can also use these evaluation and feedback forms to improve and advance their careers.
Improve Learning Outcomes: Sending student surveys regularly generates insights that help you improve learning experiences. That win has ripple effects-reducing course dropout rates, increasing graduation rates, and boosting overall student success. Asking questions about a specific course’s format or educational content can give educators insight into what students liked and disliked.
Data-Driven Decisions: Survey insights help improve the learning environment for both students and teachers. When you collect feedback, you make staff members and students feel supported and valued. Of course, following up on student feedback is important, too. Use the data to make decisions impacting curriculum, course format, and more.

Examples of Survey Use Cases

Satisfaction with Faculty: Determine students’ perception of professors and instructors with a university faculty satisfaction survey.Parental Involvement: Do parents have time to actively participate in their students' education? Send a parent survey to ask questions such as “How confident are you in your ability to support your child’s learning at home?”Overall Climate and Mood: Give students the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings about their school community or campus. Do they feel fully supported by their teachers and other staff members? Are there issues with students being mistreated or bullied by others? A student survey can uncover areas that need to be addressed by the administration.

Creating Effective Student Surveys

To create a student survey that yields reliable and actionable feedback, it’s important to follow a structured approach.

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Steps to Create a Student Survey

Set a Goal: To begin, set a clear goal for your student survey. This goal will guide your focus and inform the questions you ask. Your goal will also help you keep your survey short, which is better for you (and your students). Respondents often abandon surveys that are too long or contain too many different topics if they get bored or tired of answering questions.
Understand Your Audience: Understanding your audience is extremely important when creating a survey. In this case, your target audience is students of your educational institution. However, you must be intentional and develop questions carefully, using clear and direct language. Design respectful and inclusive questions and avoid bias or assumptions about gender identity. Additionally, when asking questions about topics that may be sensitive to some students, give respondents the option to decline to answer.
Choose Your Questions:
Format the Survey: Format the student survey in a logical way that flows naturally from question to question. This enables you to get honest student feedback and helps promote completion. Vary your questions and brand your survey with your school colors and logo.
Test and Measure: It’s smart to test your survey with a small group of people before you launch. Ask your survey testers if they thought anything was confusing or seemed broken. You’ll also want to examine the results and analyze the data to be sure the survey captured the intended information and meets the goal you set.
Distribute the Survey: Once you’ve polished your survey for students and tested it with a small group of respondents, it’s time to send it. Consider adding an incentive, like a raffle or small gift, to encourage student participation.

Student Survey Templates

Ready to create a student survey? Check out our customizable education survey templates, written by experts, to minimize bias and get reliable results. Customize them how you want and send your survey in minutes.

General Education Surveys

Education Demographics Template: Discover the makeup of your school community with 16 basic demographic questions about gender, income, race, relationship to student, and more.
Learning Support Template: Ask parents five short questions about how they support their children’s educational environment at home.

K-12 Teacher Surveys

K-12 Teachers: are asked 10 questions in this teacher satisfaction questionnaire. Subjects like school safety, resources, administrative support, standardized tests, and student achievement are all explored in this template.

Surveys for Parents

Parent Surveys: Understand how parents interact with teachers and other parents. Learn about their school involvement, fundraising efforts, social needs, and volunteering with this 10-question template.
Parent Self-Efficacy Template: How empowered do parents feel to support their child’s learning at home? Gauge their confidence level and find ways to help with this seven-question survey.

Surveys for Universities

University Faculty Satisfaction Survey Template: Use this faculty satisfaction survey template to ask university faculty about leadership, interactions, administration, and general job satisfaction at their university. It’s a quick, 10-question survey.
University Instructor Evaluation Template: The students have the opportunity to grade the university professors and instructors with this 28-question student survey about teachers. Questions center around course materials, teaching methods, instructor availability, assignment usefulness, and overall satisfaction.
University Student Graduation Template: Hear from students about their experience at the university with this 10-question student graduation template. This survey provides insights into expected graduation dates, overall impressions of teaching quality, facilities, and future goals.
University Student Satisfaction Template: This 10-question general feedback survey lets college students express their satisfaction with teaching effectiveness, facilities, registration process, campus safety, and more.
University Teaching Assistant Evaluation Template: Check out this 15-question teaching assistant (TA) evaluation survey. Students are asked to rate TAs on their subject knowledge, material presentation, teaching ability, availability, and overall effectiveness.

Sample Survey Questions

Below are some sample questions for student surveys in higher education as well as primary and secondary schools. This selection is not exhaustive but guides questions for various audiences.

Questions for Students

Middle and high school student survey questions focus on topics such as bullying, athletics, and academic experiences. University student surveys often address the academic experience, administrative services, and physical facilities.

Questions for Parents

Surveying parents can be a means of measuring their engagement as well as fostering engagement. Get to know more about parent experiences and how they view their children’s education, too.

Questions for Faculty

Like employees in any other type of organization, faculty members want to be heard. Their perspectives provide valuable insights into employee satisfaction and retention.

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Best Practices for Student Surveys

Ensure your surveys are clear and unbiased, giving you actionable feedback. Here are some best practices for student survey design:

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