A lot of information flows back and forth in an educational setting, thanks to registration forms, class tests, emotional aptitude surveys, and more. Administrators and teachers need a way to capture information from their students, whether it’s feedback on lessons or test answers.
However, writing kid survey questions is a different ball game from designing survey questions for adults. Kids have entirely different viewpoints and levels of understanding.
In this article, we cover best practices for surveying kids, top kid survey questions, and a software tool to make creating surveys easy.
Best practices for surveying kids
Depending on their age, kids may find it difficult to answer any question clearly, much less to complete a survey. That’s why teachers and administrators have to take special care when designing surveys for children. While some of these best practices can apply to adult survey questions as well, they are especially important when you’re polling kids:
Use unambiguous language. Kids often take things literally, so it’s important to be as clear as possible when surveying children. Ensure the questions are direct. If you’re providing a list of answer options, make sure they’re concise and that they don’t overlap with one another.
Keep it short. Children have short attention spans, so keep the number of questions to a minimum. This also applies to the number of responses to choose from. Kids may be overwhelmed with too many choices, so it’s best to keep it to as few as possible.
Use non-text communication. In addition to written text, use images, graphics, videos, or audio to engage and interest kids. This is especially important for children who are learning to read and looking for visual cues to fully comprehend the text.
Apply age-appropriate vocabulary. A five-year-old will have a completely different vocabulary than a 10-year-old, so it’s important to ensure the language in the survey is appropriately aligned with the age group.
Examples of kid survey questions
Technological or logistical questions
Kid survey questions that involve technology or logistics can help teachers and administrators understand what resources a child has available to them at home. This is particularly useful for remote or virtual learning programs.
Examples of these questions include
- Do you have a dedicated computer, laptop, or tablet at home?
- Do you have internet access at home?
- Is a grown-up available to help you with your school work during the school day?
- Do you have a quiet space to learn at home?
- How many siblings are also learning from home?
Personality questions
It’s important for teachers and school administrators to get to know their students on a personal level at the beginning of the school year. This can help teachers relate to students more effectively, especially if the student is having a hard time or finding a school subject challenging.
Some question options are
- What is your favorite TV show?
- What is your favorite song?
- If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
- What makes you laugh?
- What is the first thing you think about when you wake up?
Emotional intelligence or maturity questions
These questions help teachers and administrators become familiar with the emotional development of a child. This information can reveal the types of relationships they have at school and at home as well as how they respond to direction from an educator or other authority figures.
You could ask
- What makes you happy?
- What makes you feel special?
- What does it mean to be a good friend?
- What are some ways you can be responsible at school?
- What does it mean to be a good listener?
The easy way to create surveys for kids: Jotform
Teachers and administrators can rely on Jotform to create engaging and easy-to-use surveys for kids. No matter what type of form you need in the education setting, whether it’s permission forms, registration forms, or class surveys, Jotform has templates to help get you started. Each template is fully customizable, from the text and colors to the layout, so teachers and administrators can create the survey that meets their exact needs.
Ready to ask kids survey questions? Jotform can help!
Photo by Yan Krukau
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