Guide to Creating a Survey to Assess Home Access

Consider these aspects of a needs assessment survey to make sure you get the data you need to design an effective home
access program.

1 | SET AN OBJECTIVE

Establish what you need to learn and why in order to design a home access program. You should attempt to gather the information that reveals whether each student has: 

  • A sufficient internet connection
  • A device suitable for online education

Share that objective with your audience. For example, explaining, “This survey will help us design a device and connectivity program to keep our students connected to learning resources during the COVID-19,” could motivate your audience to respond.

2 | SURVEY DESIGN

The order and style of questions impact the quality of the responses you receive. 

1 | Order: Consider starting with easy, less personal questions to avoid scaring people away. 

2 | Close-ended questions: Multiple choice or pre-populated answers make it easier to respond and provide you with quantitative data when it’s time to analyze the results.

3 | Clear and specific answers: Terms such as “moderate” or “fast” can be up for interpretation. Consider putting the question in terms of online activities that a student is already doing through your distance learning curriculum or otherwise (e.g., streaming video).  You could also ask for specific numbers through speed tests.

4 | Qualitative responses: Leave space at the end for qualitative comments that will provide more context about the student’s situation.

3 | EXAMPLE QUESTIONS

What device does your student have for online learning?

  • Desktop
  • Laptop
  • iPad   
  • Android tablet
  • Chromebook
  • Other (please specify)
  • None

How do you access the Internet at home?

  • Broadband (via cable vendor)
  • DSL (through phone company)
  • Dial‐Up (must connect via phone dial)
  • Cellular service 
  • No Internet access

Is your student able to stream videos and connect to other educational content on his/her device?

  • Yes (we experience no or very few issues)
  • Sometimes (access is inconsistent)
  • No (we do not have Internet access)

Please provide any additional comments you would like to share about your distance learning experiences (related to technology) thus far.

4 | OUTREACH

Provide multiple opportunities and channels through which your audience can respond, such as:

  • Online surveys
  • Paper surveys 
  • Phone calls 

If you combine with other surveys (e.g., food access), be sure to keep the connectivity questions in a separate, labeled section for clarity. 

Note: There are many unique considerations for each school district when administering a needs assessment. EducationSuperHighway advises that you take into account any unique circumstances for your school district and community. 

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