Teaching · For Teachers

Know before you send it whether enough people will answer.

Enter the group size, the precision you need and each channel with its likely response rate. The summary shows the target, what the plan should bring in, and the dates to send reminders.

Plan a survey sendWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the For Teachers toolkit, $79 for 79 items.

The distribution plan

One record per survey; the record date is the first send. The example is made up.

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What you get

Teaching · For Teachers$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
Responses needed and expected, the gap, ways to close it, and a contact schedule with reminders.
Who it is for
Teacher researchers, school data teams, program evaluators and family engagement coordinators.
Format
Browser planner. One saved record per survey; printed with its summary or as a blank form; CSV of channels; export and import a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the For Teachers toolkit ($79) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The For Teachers space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about an order, access or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.
@SMSQRMailreach people where they are
Drawn for this page. Each channel reaches a different part of the group; the plan adds up what each should bring back.

How to use it

  1. Count the whole group you want answers from, such as every family in the grade.
  2. Pick the margin of error you can live with; 5 points is common for school surveys.
  3. Use response rates from your own past surveys when you have them.
  4. Plan reminders before you send; they are part of the design.
  5. Track responses daily and send the next reminder on schedule.

Plan a survey send

What the planner covers

Where the numbers come from

Responses needed use the standard formula for a proportion at 95 percent confidence (1.96 squared times 0.25, divided by the margin squared), corrected for the size of the group. Small groups need a large share of people to answer.

Reminders and channels

Survey research consistently finds that several contacts and more than one channel raise response rates, and that each reminder brings a new wave of answers. Offering the survey in families’ home languages matters as much as the channel.

What it is not

A large sample does not fix bias: if the people who answer differ from those who do not, the results lean their way. Expected rates are your estimates, not predictions.

Sources

  1. Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., and Christian, L. M. Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method (4th ed.). Wiley, 2014: multiple contacts and mixed modes.
  2. Cochran, W. G. Sampling Techniques (3rd ed.). Wiley, 1977: sample size for proportions and the finite population correction.
  3. Groves, R. M., and Peytcheva, E. (2008). The impact of nonresponse rates on nonresponse bias: A meta-analysis. Public Opinion Quarterly, 72(2), 167–189.
  4. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice guidance (2015) on communicating with families in a language they understand.

The example survey and rates are made up. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.