A school enrollment survey, or student enrollment survey, is a questionnaire schools give families and parents when they sign their student(s) up. Depending on the specific purpose, this survey collects vital information to better understand the student population and needs.
Why conduct an enrollment survey?
Schools are struggling to increase engagement with families and students. A critical first step toward connecting with your community is through a better understanding of who your school serves. A key step toward understanding is through asking.
An enrollment survey’s benefits include:
- Improving communication between families, students, and schools: Asking for family information and explaining why this information is important can increase family engagement.
- Informing strategic planning: Enrollment surveys can provide your schools and school district with vital information to inform policy, funding, resource allocation, staffing, and more.
- Improving diversity initiatives: Knowing your school population demographics, your school and school district can enforce anti-discrimination laws to ensure equal opportunity for your students.
- Securing funding: Government grants fund schools that serve students with specific needs – low-income students, students with disabilities, English language learners, migrant students, students from rural areas, native students, and more. With demographic information, your school and school district can secure necessary funding to provide better education opportunities for your diverse population.
Understand your population, their needs, and how you can access funding to meet those needs. The only way to do so, though, is through data.
What questions do you ask in an enrollment survey?
Your school and school district must identify the purpose for which you choose to conduct the enrollment survey. This will guide you in determining which survey questions to include.
Student Information:
These survey topics are designed to collect essential information about your student population, including:
- Academic background
- Contact details
- Family background
Large-Scale Data:
More in-depth enrollment surveys can provide your school and district leaders with vital information to better understand the demographics and characteristics of your student population. This can help inform policy, funding, resource allocation, and even curriculum decisions. The survey can include questions regarding:
- Language spoken at home and multilingual learners
- Disability status
- Race, ethnicity, and tribal status
- Housing situation (to identify unhoused and vulnerable populations)
How long should an enrollment survey be?
A school enrollment survey is not the same as a School Climate and Culture Survey. Enrollment surveys are typically shorter and focus on gathering key information from your student population. Completing the survey should take no more than 5–7 minutes.
Increase your survey response rate:
- Explain what the survey is for.
- Tell your families about the time needed to complete the questionnaire.
- Provide the survey in multiple languages to meet your school population’s needs.
- Provide a place for families and parents to fill out the survey when they sign their student up (in person).
- Send a link to families via email, text, and other communication avenues.
- Test the survey before you send it out!
An enrollment survey can give your school and school district key information to identify student needs. This can improve the services you offer, help you secure funding, and, ultimately, better understand your student population. This gets you closer to ensuring all students have access to an equitable education.
