Informed from themes shared during an NSPRA Member Monday session and informed by external research, with editorial support assisted in part by AI.

“Do you think our schools communicate well?”

It’s a simple question—and one that often falls short of its intent.

While it invites feedback, it rarely produces the clarity leaders need to make informed decisions. The challenge with surveys usually isn’t collecting responses. It’s designing questions that turn feedback into usable insight.

When questions lack clarity, the data lacks clarity. And when the data is unclear, decisions start relying on assumptions.

Purpose Matters as Much as Wording

Strong survey design starts with understanding what you need to learn, not just what you want to ask. That purpose should shape the types of questions you use.

If you’re not sure how the answers to a question could inform decision-making, that question likely needs refinement. 

As the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) advises, questions should be specific and focused on a single concept so respondents interpret them consistently. One of the most common pitfalls in survey design is asking questions that mean different things to different people.

Take a question like: “Do you support our district?”

Respondents might wonder: Support how? Financially? By attending events? By agreeing with leadership decisions? Without clarity, responses would become difficult to interpret accurately.

Instead, try reframing the earlier question about support to something less open to misinterpretation such as the following:

• In what ways did you support our school district in the last year? [with a list of options to choose from]
• In what ways do you prefer to support our school district? [with a list of options to choose from]

Even subtle differences in phrasing can influence how people respond. For example, asking whether families feel “well informed” may produce different responses than asking whether they receive “relevant information.”

Both purpose and wording shape interpretation—and ultimately, the data.

Move Beyond Yes/No

Binary questions may be easy to answer, but rarely provide meaningful insight. The Pew Research Center has found that agree/disagree formats can introduce bias, while AAPOR notes that respondents may default to “yes” even when it doesn’t fully reflect their perspective. More effective surveys use a mix of rating scales, multiple choice with clear categories and open-ended responses for context.

For example, instead of asking, “Are you happy working here?” try breaking it down like this:

• To what degree do you feel supported by district leadership? [answer on a 5-point scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree]
• What do you like about working for the district? What would make the experience better? [open-ended text response option]

As in this example, strong surveys combine both structure and flexibility by using closed-ended questions (with set response options) that are easy to analyze for patterns along with open-ended questions (with space for free-text responses) that invite deeper insight to help explain those patterns.

Break Big Topics Into Meaningful Parts

Complex topics like “communication” are rarely one-dimensional.

Instead of asking one broad question about communications satisfaction, for example, consider breaking it down to get feedback on district, school and teacher communication, separating channels such as email, social media and websites and distinguishing between frequency and effectiveness. That allows each concept to be measured on its own.

When each question focuses on one topic at a time, the questions capture nuance better. AAPOR has found that when multiple ideas are combined, respondents may answer based on different interpretations, making the data harder to use.

The Takeaway

Better surveys aren’t about asking more questions. They’re about asking the right mix of questions so you can easily move from collecting opinions to seeing patterns, gaining insight and taking action. Because in school communication, it’s not just about hearing from your community—it’s about understanding their feedback well enough to act.

Want more help with surveys? NSPRA’s nationally benchmarked SCOPE Survey offers a structured way to move from collecting perception data to interpreting and using it to guide communication strategy. Members can also visit the NSPRA Plus webinar library and do a search for the word “survey” to watch helpful content.