FAQ

These FAQ's are specifically related to the survey process developed to gather the opinions of teachers, learners, parents, administration and service staff at a school. General information How does the survey process work? How does the survey process work? Your school’s self-evaluation process starts with the administration of the opinion surveys. Opinion surveys are useful for gathering information from large groups of people, in the form of facts, perceptions and opinions. The IQAA process requires this information from five groups: Parents/Guardians, Teachers, Learners (Grades 4-12), Administration and Service Staff. Every survey consists of core statements which schools are obliged to use as they are considered universally applicable and feed into the database of results IQAA collects. A school may, however, request the inclusion of up to 5 additional statements to any of the online surveys they are using. IQAA surveys are available to view in the member section on the website. It is important to note that the survey responses are completely anonymous and no email addresses are recorded when completing a survey. Online survey process Online survey process Below is a basic outline of the survey process: School completes the online survey information form. IQAA sets up the surveys for each of the participating groups. A web link is created for each survey. This list of links for the various surveys is then sent to the school, to be tested and checked, especially in the case where the school has added additional statements. All test responses are cleared just before the survey week starts. The school is responsible for distributing the survey links electronically to the various survey groups for completion. Mid-way through the survey period response rates are sent to the school. At the end of the survey week, IQAA will send the final response numbers for each survey to the school and thereafter run the results, which the school will receive within 7 days. Hard copy survey process Hard copy survey process All surveys are administered online with the exception of the Service Staff survey, which is also available in a hard copy format. In exceptional circumstances, schools may request Parent hard copy surveys. Please note the following: Hard-copy surveys should be completed at the same time as online surveys. PDF copies of the hard copy surveys will be sent to the school via email. Please check that it is the correct form for the required survey group and that the name of the school is at the top of the form. The surveys can be printed on any paper usually used for printing at the school. It is critical that the school follows the steps as listed in the ‘Managing the Opinion Surveys’ document that is emailed to the school. Surveys that are not photocopied straight, or too light to read will unfortunately not be able to be processed. Specific Setups Learner Surveys Learner Surveys The Learner survey has been designed in such a manner that it can be completed multiple times on a single device. This is to ensure that a school can take learners into an IT lab to complete the surveys. In the online survey information form, schools state how the learner survey will be completed. The two options are: Each learner has their own device on which to complete the survey Learners will complete the survey in a computer room as a class If learners are completing the survey on their own devices, they will only be able to complete a survey once. Parent surveys Parent surveys One parent per family (except for separated parents) completes the parent surveys. Parents may complete one survey for each child they have at the school. If parents have more than one child in the same section of the school, they will need to use a different device i.e. computer, laptop or mobile to complete the surveys for each child. The system will not allow them to use the same device twice for the same survey link. What is a good survey response rate? What is a good survey response rate? The survey response rate for teachers, learners, admin and service staff should be as close to 100% as possible. However, this is not always the case for high school learners, particularly where the survey is completed on their own devices and in their own time. IQAA recommends using the learners’ registration class to complete the survey in order to facilitate a higher response rate. For parents, the response rate is significantly lower and getting a statistically significant sample size that represents the population is critical. The aim is 60% and more. Note the following In survey research, the survey response rate is the number of people who answered the survey divided by the number of people you sent the survey to (the sample), then multiply that number by 100, since it is usually expressed in the form of a percentage. Remember: should you have any queries or require any assistance regarding the survey process, please don’t hesitate to contact our Office Administrator on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Your mentor is also a good resource at your disposal.

Frequently Asked Questions - Survey Process

General information

How does the survey process work?

Online survey process

Hard copy survey process

Specific Setups

Learner Surveys

Parent surveys

What is a good survey response rate?

Note the following

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