More than three-quarters of voters filled out the survey, and half of them used the opportunity to write in comments. Few of the Schalmont comments were about the district budget. She suggests using simply worded questions with multiple choice answers and a field test of the draft survey instrument. Keeping the survey short is especially important in exit polling. Mom and dad may have left the kids with their older brother and want to scoot back home before any mayhem occurs.
Some districts use staff to distribute the surveys and answer questions.
Others may use PTA members or students from a government class. If the district is particularly concerned about appearing impartial, government students from a local community college might be enlisted to help design and administer the survey, Siena College's Kelly advises. A spreadsheet computer program such as Excel or a relational database such as FileMaker can cross-tabulate the results. The results could be reported in a general way, without all the specifics that a more visible statistical survey would demand. All rights reserved.