Best questions for high school freshman student survey about course difficulty

Here are some of the best questions for a high school freshman student survey about course difficulty, along with tips to make your survey more insightful. With Specific, you can build such a survey in seconds—using smart, AI-powered logic tailored for education.

The best open-ended questions for high school freshman student course difficulty surveys

Open-ended questions let students express themselves in their own words, revealing genuine struggles and bright spots in course experiences. These questions are great for surfacing unanticipated insights and understanding the context behind their views. Especially for high school freshmen, who may be adjusting to new academic expectations, open-ended questions foster trust and honesty.

1. What parts of your courses so far have been the most challenging, and why?

2. Can you describe a moment when you felt overwhelmed by your schoolwork?

3. Are there subject areas where you wish you had more support or resources?

4. What methods or strategies help you succeed when you struggle with assignments?

5. Which aspects of your classes are easier than expected? Why do you think that is?

6. Who or what has been most helpful when you encounter difficult coursework?

7. Can you share a specific assignment or project that you found particularly hard?

8. How do you balance your coursework with extracurricular activities or home life?

9. In what ways do you think courses could be improved for freshmen?

10. What advice would you give future freshmen about managing course difficulty?

Open-ended responses give us rich context and can highlight patterns we might otherwise miss—for example, the impact of new teaching methods or campus resources. Notably, 63% of U.S. teenagers use AI tools such as chatbots to assist with school assignments [1], so including questions about support resources can uncover how technology is helping or hindering student adaptation.

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for high school freshman course difficulty surveys

Single-select multiple-choice questions are a must-have when we need to quantify opinions or recognize trends. They help us quickly identify where the majority stands and pave the way for follow-up discussions. These questions work well as icebreakers or when we want to validate hunches.

Question: How would you rate the overall difficulty of your courses this semester?

• Very easy

• Somewhat easy

• Moderate

• Somewhat difficult

• Very difficult

Question: Which subject have you found most difficult?

• Mathematics

• Science

• Language Arts

• Social Studies

• Other

Question: How often do you seek help from teachers or tutors when you’re struggling?

• Never

• Rarely

• Sometimes

• Often

• Always

When to follow up with “why?” Once a student selects an answer that indicates difficulty or confusion, that’s a perfect trigger for a follow-up question. For example, if a student indicates “Mathematics” is most difficult, we can ask, “What specifically makes mathematics challenging for you?” It’s a proven way to uncover actionable details, turning a start into a conversation. This layered approach is even more vital now, as 86% of students report using AI for their studies, which means support strategies are evolving rapidly with tech influence [1].

When and why to add the “Other” choice? Always include “Other” when there’s any chance respondents’ experiences may not fit offered options. Letting students specify their own answer—followed by an open-ended prompt like, “Please describe”—often reveals new challenges or rare courses that weren’t on your radar. Such flexibility is critical in education settings, where course and support structures differ from school to school.

NPS-style question for high school freshman student course difficulty

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) approach asks how likely students are to recommend something—in this case, their courses or overall academic experience—to peers. For high school freshmen, an NPS question about course difficulty can quickly reveal who feels supported and confident versus who may be struggling or at risk of disengagement. You’ll see both sentiment and patterns emerge clearly through a single, structured question, with followups exploring the “why.”

If you want to try this out, you can use a ready-to-go NPS survey for high school freshmen about course difficulty.

The power of follow-up questions

Automatic follow-up questions are the secret sauce for getting beyond the basics. Instead of static responses, you trigger clarifications or deeper context, turning your survey into a real conversation—just like a skilled interviewer would. We break down exactly how this works in our guide on automated follow-up questions.

Specific’s AI not only gathers initial answers but also asks smart follow-ups in real time, contextualized by each respondent’s answer. This means richer insights for you and more natural, less frustrating experiences for students. It saves you countless hours you’d otherwise spend following up by email or manually analyzing unclear responses. Thanks to conversational AI, every student gets the feeling of truly being heard.

• Freshman student: “Math class is hard.”

• AI follow-up: “Can you tell me which part of math class is hardest, or share an example of a topic you struggle with?”

How many followups to ask? Typically, 2–3 targeted followups are enough before you risk survey fatigue. It’s smart to let students skip to the next question if they’ve covered the key info. Specific lets you set this up—so you always get what you need, without overburdening respondents.

This makes it a conversational survey: Instead of a cold form, you’re engaging in real back-and-forth, similar to an interview. That’s how you uncover the full story and earn honest feedback.

AI survey response analysis: Even with lots of text answers, it’s easy to analyze survey responses using AI tools. AI summarizes and categorizes all responses, no matter how long or varied, saving a ton of time while surfacing core themes and action items.

Smart automated followups are new to most people—so try generating a conversational survey and experience the difference firsthand.

How to ask ChatGPT for better high school freshman course difficulty survey questions

Want to brainstorm even more relevant questions? Write a prompt like this:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for High School Freshman Student survey about Course Difficulty.

But if you give the AI more context—about your role, your school’s goals, or specific concerns—the results get sharper. Here’s a richer prompt:

I’m a guidance counselor at a diverse suburban high school. Our freshmen struggle with course load, and I want to identify where they need more support. Suggest 10 open-ended questions to uncover genuine struggles and ideas for improvement.

After generating a question set, ask the AI to organize them:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Then, you can pick the categories most important to you, and drill deeper:

Generate 10 questions for categories like “academic support” and “motivation.”

Working this way, you get highly targeted, actionable question lists tailored for your unique student group, making your survey process smarter and more efficient.

What is a conversational survey—and how does AI survey generation change the game?

Conversational surveys feel like chat with a real person, not ticking boxes on a form. Our AI surveys adapt—probing for clarity when answers are vague, digging deeper when you signal there’s more to share. This makes the experience approachable for students, who are already comfortable with chatbots and messaging apps. 63% of U.S. teens use AI-powered chatbots for assignments [1], so this approach meets them where they are.

Why use AI for high school freshman student surveys? AI delivers structured yet flexible surveys that surface deeper context. With platforms like Specific, you get rapid turnaround, automated analysis, and an experience that actually feels modern for today’s “AI-first” students—over 86% are already using AI regularly for schoolwork [1].

If you want to learn more about creating effective surveys from scratch, check our detailed guide on creating a high school freshman course difficulty survey.

Specific offers best-in-class conversational surveys that both students and teams love—making the survey process seamless, engaging, and revealing.

See this course difficulty survey example now

Experience the future of feedback—see the best AI survey example for high school freshmen, and generate actionable insights with smarter, more conversational questions. Make your student surveys engaging, adaptive, and easy to analyze with Specific.