Top 16 Student Survey Questions for Student Feedback

What are the types of student surveys?

Educational institutes run multiple student surveys for colleges or schools to
gather feedback about various topics. Here’s a list of some popular survey
questions for students:

 School climate surveys: These surveys address issues like student-

teacher relationships, faculty involvement, student mental health,
student tobacco, alcohol, and drug use, and student relationships.

 Student mental health and bullying surveys: It is highly essential to

assess student mental health and address issues at the beginning
before they bloom into bigger ones. Institutes must run surveys like peer
 relationship surveys, bullying behaviors, childhood trauma, social skills
surveys, and substance abuse surveys to identify their mental health

 Course evaluation surveys: Student feedback is vital to understanding

the shortcomings of courses and identifying gaps that impact learning.
As students are the best critics on courses, you must run surveys to
capture their feedback about the class to make their learning experience
more fun and fruitful.

 Faculty evaluation surveys: Students and faculty interact almost daily.

The faculty must get feedback from students about different aspects like
preparedness, subject matter knowledge, problem-solving approach,
grading, time management, talent management, etc. to name a few.
The institute also keeps track of student feedback to help teachers
deliver the best education that suits students’ needs.

What are student survey questions?

Student feedback is essential for teachers and academic institutes to improve
continuously. If you work in academia, it is a great idea to know the
perceptions and opinions of students. Educational institutes
conduct surveys to gather actionable feedback from students about the
institute and its faculty. Schools run surveys for kids at the start, the middle, or
the end of the academic year.

Frame questions in a way that the answer to each question benefits the
educational institute in one form or another. Survey students to improve the
educational institute’s overall functioning by analyzing the feedback received
from student surveys.

1. Dichotomous questions
Dichotomous is generally a "Yes/No" question. It's often a screening question to
filter those who don't fit the needs of the research.

Dichotomous question example:

For example, you want to know information about people who use your products.
This type of question screens respondents to determine if they own your
products. Those who have are to buy move to the end of the survey.
Dichotomous questions can also separate respondents by a specific value. For
example, this might be those who "have purchased" and those who "are yet to
purchase" your products.
The survey then asks different question sets to the two groups. You may want to
know the satisfaction of the "have purchased" group. For the other set of
respondents, you can learn more about their reasons of not buying products or
services.
2. Multiple choice
The multiple-choice survey questions consist of three or more exhaustive,
mutually exclusive categories. Ask for either single or multiple answers. In the
following survey questions example, the user selects only one out of the seven
provided. You could configure this question to allow users to select multiple
answers, such as all of the above responses.

Multiple choice survey question example:

Remember to include a category for "other" answers to serve as a catch-all for
users not represented in the choices you provide.
3. Rank order scaling
Rank order scaling types of survey questions allow ranking of brands or
products. You list options and ask users to rank them on specific attributes or
characteristics. Consider a fitness tracker company that wants to know what
features their users like the most. List down the features and ask your
respondents to rank the options based on how much they like them.

Rank order scaling survey example:

4. Rating scale
A rating scale question requires a person to rate a product or brand along within
a well-defined range. Rating scales measure the direction and intensity of
attitudes.

Rating scale survey question example:

5. Semantic differential scale

The Semantic Differential Scale question asks a person to rate a product, brand,
or company on a seven-point rating scale. The ends of the scale feature polar-
opposite adjectives, for example "Very unlikely" to "Very likely". A typical
example is asking customers to rate their willingness to purchase the product
again.
Semantic differential scale survey example:

Unlike the rating scale, the semantic differential scale does not have a neutral or
middle selection. A person must choose, to a certain extent, one or the other
adjective.
6. Stapel scale
The stapel scale question asks a person to rate a brand, product, or service
according to a specific characteristic on a scale from -5 to +5. The rating range
indicates how well the attribute describes the product or service.

Stapel scale survey example:

7. Constant sum survey questions

A constant sum survey question permits the collection of "ratio" data. It means
data can express the relative value or importance of the options. For example, if
option A is twice as important as option B.

Constant sum survey example:

Use this question when you are relatively sure of the reasons for purchase. Total
study items must equal 100 points. The application uses JavaScript to check the
sum of the points.
8. Open-ended
The open ended survey question explores qualitative, in-depth aspects of a
particular topic or issue. It gives the person a chance to respond in detail.
Although open questions provide a direct look into a person's thoughts, don't
overuse them. Open questions are time-consuming and require more effort. You
might accidentally lower your number of responses.
A great way to incorporate an open question is through the "other" option of
multiple-choice questions. Add an open ended textbox after your multiple-choice
options to capture each user's response to "other". For example, you ask a
person's favorite color and include options for orange, green, blue, and "other."
For the respondents whose favorite color is not present as one of the options,
they can select "other" option and enter their answer.

Open-ended survey question example:

Create a free account

9. Demographic survey questions
Demographic information is integral to the success of a survey. It identifies age,
gender, income, race, geographic location, number of children, and other
essential qualifiers. Let's say most of your customers come from the Southwest
US region, between the ages of 50 and 65, and have income between $50,000
and $75,000.

Demographic data helps you paint a more accurate picture of the groups you’re
trying to understand. A better understanding of your audience allows you to
allocate promotional resources effectively.

Demographic survey example:

Survey questions example templates also include psychographic and lifestyle
topics. These questions provide an in-depth psychological profile and look at the
activities, interests, and opinions of respondents.
Learn more: Top 7 demographic survey questions for questionnaire

10. Matrix table

Matrix table questions are in the tabular format. The questions reside on the left
of the table with answer options across the top. They are two-dimensional
variants of multiple-choice questions. Multipoint scales allow respondents to
select only one option per parameter, while multi-select will enable them to
choose multiple options.

The spreadsheet structure converts text and options into organized tables that
are easy for the respondents to complete.

Matrix survey example:

11. Side-by-side matrix
Need to know multiple aspects of a single parameter? Use a side-by-side matrix
for a visually appealing design. It gives you the option to define various rating
options simultaneously.

Consider that you need to know how important and satisfied a customer is with
customer service. A side-by-side matrix allows you to ask about both at once.
This layout also makes it easy to identify the problem areas to make changes
and improve your business.

Side by side matrix survey example:

12. Static content

Static questions add value to your questionnaire by displaying additional
information. Presentation text questions, a static type, usually separate different
sections of a survey. You can also add headings and subheadings to the various
parts of the study to make it aesthetically pleasing.

Static text question example:

13. Miscellaneous
This category of survey questions captures a variety of data types. Depending on
the purpose of the survey, you might want to collect a captcha code, date of birth,
or point on a map.

Miscellaneous survey question example:

14. Visual analog scale
The Visual analog scale allows you to increase the visual appeal of questions.
For example, you ask participants to rate the services they receive. Text sliders
and numeric sliders provide a convenient and engaging way to answer. Other
options include social media sharing, star-rating questions, thumbs up or down,
and smiley-rating. Smiley ratings, in particular, are pleasant to the eyes and
deliver a positive impact.

Smiley survey example:

15. Image chooser

The use of images improves user experience. Consider an article with lot of text.
Would you prefer to read a page with only text or the one with lots of attractive
graphics? Most people will choose the one with images.

Image chooser question example:

Put this theory into practice to increase user responses. Image questions allow
the respondents an opportunity to select images from a list. Take the image
chooser question type to the next level with an image matrix.
16. Data reference
Data reference questions gather and validate data against the standard
databases. A zip code, for example, is a type of data deference. Another option
is the dynamic lookup tables. Use these tables to depict data according to
rankings.

Data reference survey question example:

17. Upload data

This type allows users to upload documents, images, and more to their survey
responses.

Upload data question example:

18. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

A Net Promoter Score survey research questions measure brand shareability
and customer satisfaction. It asks respondents to rate whether they'll recommend
your company to their network on a scale of 0 to 10. It categorizes the
respondents into Promoters (9-10), Passives (7-8), and Detractors (0-6).
Your NPS helps you identify why customers are promoting or detracting from
your brand. Patterns in the responses of Promoters and Detractors provide
insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your business.
NPS question example: