Here are some of the best questions for an elementary school student survey about homework difficulty, plus actionable tips for getting better student feedback. You can build your own survey in seconds with Specific—making the whole process fast and easy.
Best open-ended questions for student survey about homework difficulty
Open-ended questions let students express their real thoughts in their own words. They're perfect when we want detailed stories or to understand the "why" behind homework struggles—especially since 75% of students report feeling stressed due to homework [3]. We get honest context, not just boxes checked. Here are 10 of our favorites:
What makes some homework assignments harder for you than others?
Can you describe a time when you felt stuck or confused by your homework?
How do you usually feel when you start your homework?
What would make doing homework easier or more enjoyable for you?
Who helps you with homework at home, and how do they support you?
If you could change one thing about your homework, what would it be?
What do you do when you finish your homework quickly?
Have you ever not finished homework because it was too difficult? Tell us about that.
What kind of homework do you look forward to (if any)?
Is there anything else you want to share about your homework experience?
Surveys with rich, open-ended questions tap into the emotional and logistical barriers young students face. This is especially crucial given today’s "homework gap," where over 12 million school-age children lack high-speed broadband access—a huge factor in homework completion [4].
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for student survey about homework difficulty
Single-select multiple-choice questions work best when we need to quantify results or lower the barrier to entry. Some students—especially younger ones—find it easier (and less intimidating) to choose from a list than to spell out a whole story. These questions help us spot patterns, and they can also start a conversation before open-ended follow-ups dig deeper.
Example single-select questions:
Question: How often do you find your homework too difficult?
Never
Sometimes
Often
Always
Question: Which subject’s homework do you struggle with the most?
Math
Reading/Writing
Science
Other
Question: When do you usually do your homework?
Right after school
After dinner
Late at night
In the morning
When to followup with "why?" Following up with "why?" after a multiple-choice response unlocks the thinking behind each answer. For example, if a student says they "often" find math homework difficult, a followup like, “Why do you think math is hard for you?” lets us dig deeper and get practical feedback we might not reach with closed questions alone.
When and why to add the "Other" choice? Always include "Other" when you aren’t sure you’ve covered every possibility. This prompts students to share details you may not have anticipated, often leading to valuable, unexpected insights when they specify what "Other" means—especially when followed up automatically.
NPS-style survey question for students: making feedback measurable
NPS (Net Promoter Score) may sound business-centric, but it works extremely well in schools too—especially when it’s reframed for students. Asking something simple like, “On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend your homework assignments to a friend?” helps us gauge overall student sentiment about homework experiences.
This numeric format makes results easy to track over time or compare across classes—valuable when survey response rates in schools can be as high as 87% for middle schoolers [5]. Curious how this looks? You can generate an NPS survey customized for elementary students in a single click.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions are what separate an average survey from an awesome one—especially for conversational surveys. If you want to keep students engaged and get real stories (not just half-answers), follow-ups matter. Automated follow-up questions from Specific use AI to probe for full context in real time. The system acts just like a friendly interviewer: clarifying, encouraging detail, and catching things humans might miss.
Student: "Sometimes I can't finish because it's too hard."
AI follow-up: "Can you tell me what makes it hard—are certain instructions confusing or is it the amount of homework?"
How many followups to ask? In most surveys, 2–3 follow-ups per question hit the sweet spot—enough to get depth, not so many that students tune out. With Specific, you can set a max follow-up depth and even let the survey skip ahead when enough detail is collected.
This makes it a conversational survey: These dynamic, contextual follow-ups create a chat-like atmosphere— turning static surveys into a truly conversational survey experience for every student.
AI analysis, survey response analysis, open-ended data: Is it hard to analyze all this qualitative feedback? Not anymore. AI survey response analysis handles open-ended responses instantly, surfacing big-picture patterns while letting you drill into the details.
Automated follow-ups are relatively new. Go ahead, generate a survey and try it out—you'll see the difference immediately.
How to prompt AI (like ChatGPT) to generate effective student survey questions
AI survey generators are powerful, but they shine with a well-crafted prompt. Start simple—then feed more context to get even better results.
Basic list prompt:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for elementary school student survey about homework difficulty.
Better (add your goals and context):
I'm a teacher who wants to understand why some students struggle with homework. Please suggest 10 open-ended survey questions that will help me uncover both common and unique challenges faced by my students.
Once you have some questions, use AI to categorize them for structure:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Pick categories that matter most, then ask AI to deep-dive with new, specialized prompts:
Generate 10 questions for the category "Motivation and Emotion" (or "Parental Support," etc.).
What is a conversational survey?
Conversational surveys work like a natural chat—not a static list. That’s the magic we’re after. Instead of the old forms that ask everything all at once, AI surveys ask just what’s needed, follow up smartly, and make sure we understand student answers the first time.
Manual Surveys | AI-Generated Surveys |
Paper or basic online forms | Conversational, chat-like interface |
Few/no follow-up questions | Real-time, context-driven follow-ups |
Time-consuming to build, boring to take | Faster to create/launch, feels natural |
Manual analysis required | Instant AI insights and theme discovery |
Why use AI for elementary school student surveys? Because AI survey generators deliver engaging, adaptive conversations that fit how students actually express themselves. They're mobile-friendly, reduce stress, and boost participation. Specific’s AI survey builder also handles translations, follow-up logic, and expert-backed templates. Want to get started? We’ve got a step-by-step guide on creating a survey for homework difficulty.
Compared to manual survey creation, AI-generated surveys have huge time savings, more depth, and the kind of flexibility traditional tools simply can’t match, especially for conversational survey formats and interactive NPS feedback.
With Specific’s best-in-class user experience, gathering actionable homework feedback is easy—for you and for your students.
See this homework difficulty survey example now
Start gathering rich, actionable feedback from elementary school students instantly. Create a conversational homework difficulty survey with deep insights, engaging AI follow-ups, and effortless response analysis—all in one place.