What should a school founder measure every year?
A practical survey plan for school development in India
1. Parent satisfaction
Ask parents what they value most and what worries them: teaching quality, safety, fees, communication, transport and the school’s approach to homework. Include a simple recommendation question: would you recommend this school to a friend?
2. Teacher voice
Teachers see problems first. A short, anonymous survey on workload, training needs, resources and morale helps you keep good teachers and fix issues early.
3. Student experience
Age-appropriate questions about feeling safe, being listened to, and enjoying learning give a founder a view that parent feedback alone cannot.
4. Learning and facilities
Compare how parents, teachers and students rate classrooms, labs, library, sports, toilets and drinking water. Gaps between groups show what to fix first.
5. Why families join or leave
Ask joining families how they chose the school, and ask leaving families why they left. This shows your real competitors and the real reasons behind admissions and drop-outs.
How to run it well
- Keep it short: 10 to 15 questions per group.
- Use the local language as well as English.
- Keep responses anonymous so people answer honestly.
- Share a short summary and the actions you will take, so people see their feedback matters.
- Repeat every year with the same core questions.
Related reading: Market Research for Schools: 7 studies to grow admissions, our Education Sector Research page and School and Preschool Franchise Feasibility Studies.