What is a pre and post survey?
A pre and post survey asks the same people the same questions before and after a program, training or service, so you can see how each person’s answers changed over that period. The pre survey sets the baseline; the post survey repeats it at a planned point.
The method has one weak joint: knowing that a pre answer and a post answer came from the same person. Linked, they show who improved, held or fell; unlinked, they describe two groups.
THE SHORT VERSION
- Keep wording, scale and scoring identical at both points, and send the post survey when the change you expect could have happened.
- Give each person an ID at the first form and carry it to the post survey, then calculate change per person instead of comparing two averages.
- Report matched pairs, who is missing and the limits together; a before-and-after difference describes change but does not prove cause.
What does a pre survey measure, and what does a post survey measure?
A pre survey records where people start, before the activity can influence them; a post survey repeats those measures once the expected change has had time to happen. A later follow-up asks whether it lasted or was put to use.
| Survey | What it measures | Example | When to send |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre survey | Starting knowledge, confidence or conditions | “I can complete [task] without help,” rated 1 to 5 | Before the first session |
| Post survey | Change that could happen by the end | The same rating, plus a task they can show | At the last session |
| Follow-up | Use or a lasting outcome | “Have you used [skill] at work? What got in the way?” | 30 days to 6 months later |
Satisfaction is not learning, and learning is not use on the job. CDC’s training evaluation guidance separates learning from its transfer to work and suggests a skills demonstration alongside any knowledge test.
How do you design pre and post questions that can be compared?
Decide the change you expect and the decision it informs, then write questions whose wording, scale, scoring and delivery stay identical at both points. If the pre survey asks about “this month” and the post survey about “since the course”, or a 1–5 scale becomes 1–10, the difference partly measures your edit.
Write the result sentence before the pre survey goes out. For the fictional training team in this guide: “Among learners with both answers, how did confidence change between intake and exit, and who used the skill at work 30 days later?”
Keep post-only questions about usefulness apart from change measures. The examples below are adaptable wording, not validated scales; try them with a few respondents first.
What are good pre and post survey questions? 30 examples across five domains
Good pre and post questions describe a specific, observable ability or condition in plain words, use one consistent scale, and make sense to someone who has not yet taken part. Pick four to six. Rate statements from 1, “not yet able”, to 5, “able on my own”, on both surveys, and ask each group’s open question at both points.
Training and skills
- I can explain the main steps of [task].
- I can identify when [procedure] should be used.
- I can complete [task] using the agreed guidance, without help.
- I can recognize a common error in [task] and correct it.
- I know where to find help with [task].
- What is the hardest part of [task] for you right now?
Workforce readiness
- I can describe my relevant skills to an employer.
- I can identify roles that fit my current skills.
- I can prepare the documents needed for an application.
- I can explain how I would approach [job-relevant situation].
- I know where to find support with my next employment step.
- What currently makes it difficult to take that next step?
Education and student learning
- I can explain [course concept] in my own words.
- I can apply [concept] to a new example.
- I can identify the evidence needed to answer [question].
- I know which part of [topic] I need to practice.
- I can use feedback to improve my work on [task].
- Which part of this topic is still unclear to you?
Leadership and employee development
- I can give a colleague specific, actionable feedback.
- I can clarify responsibilities before a team task begins.
- I can describe how I would handle disagreement in [situation].
- I know how to ask for feedback on my own practice.
- I can identify when a concern needs escalation.
- What makes it difficult to apply these behaviors in your work?
Program participation and access
- I know which services are relevant to my current goal.
- I understand how to access [service].
- I can identify the next step toward [goal].
- I know whom to contact when I run into a barrier.
- I have the information I need to decide on [next step].
- What currently makes progress toward your goal difficult?
Use the same reference period at both points. For courses and workshops, the training evaluation survey questions guide sorts questions by when each can be answered.
What should a pre and post survey template include?
A workable template has five parts: a participant ID, context fields, the repeated core questions, one open question, and post-only feedback kept separate.
| Part | Pre survey | Post survey |
|---|---|---|
| Participant ID | Issued at the first form | Carried on the link, never retyped |
| Context | Cohort, site, date answered | Same definitions, new date |
| Core questions | The chosen baseline questions and scale | The same wording, scale and scoring |
| Open question | Current barriers or expectations | What changed and what got in the way |
| Post-only feedback | Not asked | Usefulness and suggestions |
Keep names and contact details in a separate lookup; analysis needs a stable ID, not an email address. Anonymous surveys are legitimate, but do not promise anonymity while keeping a link that identifies the respondent.
How do you match pre and post survey responses to the same person?
Match on an ID issued at the first form and carried to every later form, not on names or emails typed again at each survey. Typed names and emails drift, and each broken match quietly drops a person or joins two into one.
The training team’s usual path is two exports, a lookup on email and the sheet pasted into ChatGPT: unmatched rows vanish, names travel into the chat, and the matching restarts every cohort.
The fix sits before collection: create the ID when the person first appears and send the post survey as a personal link that carries it. In Sopact Sense, the post survey is added to the record the first form created, so the pairs exist before analysis.
How do you analyze pre and post survey data?
Calculate each matched person’s change first, then report how many rose, held and fell beside the average change, together with the number of pairs. Check duplicates, blanks and score direction before you start.
Take the four learners on the slide. The two piles give a pre average of 2.5 across four people and a post average of 3.33 across three, a gap of 0.83 that includes 0788, who never answered the post survey. Matched on ID, three pairs remain: 0417 rose 2, 1103 rose 1 and 0592 held, a mean change of +1.0.
0788 stays in the report as unknown, not as zero. A 1–5 rating is ordered categories, so show who moved beside any mean, and skip percentage change: 2 to 4 is not “100% more confident”.
Use a paired test only on matched pairs. The chapter Analyze pre, mid and post survey data adds a mid-point, and the survey report examples show how to write the result up.
What if you cannot match pre and post responses?
Report the pre and post groups separately and say plainly that the comparison is unpaired, because a difference can reflect a change in who answered as much as a change in anyone.
Keep unpaired records, since they show who stopped answering, and compare people with and without a post answer on what you already hold, such as attendance.
If you missed the pre survey, a retrospective question asks people at the end to rate themselves before and now. Recall shapes those answers, so label the result retrospective, not a baseline.
How do you extend a pre and post survey to follow-up waves?
Add each new wave, whether a mid-point check-in, mentor notes or a 30-day follow-up, to the same ID, so the post survey becomes one stop on a continuing record.
Maria, a fictional learner with ID 0417, shows how. Her confidence went from 2 at intake to 4 at exit, she attended 10 of 12 sessions, her mentor saw her lead a mock interview, and at 30 days she used the skill at work, all on the record her first form created.
Follow-up shrinks the group. Of 40 completers, 25 answered at 30 days: 15 had used the skill, 10 had not, and 15 are unknown. Report “15 of 25 respondents”, not “60% of the cohort”; Who stops responding shows how to check whether the missing 15 matter.
The open answers explain the numbers. In Sopact Sense, an Intelligence Cell themes each “What got in the way?” answer on arrival, with a prompt your team configures and the sentence attached, while field selection keeps names and emails out of what AI receives.
The video below shows why pre and post evidence needs the same participant across waves; watch for a group average set against one person measured twice.
What can a pre and post survey prove, and what can’t it?
It can show measured change among the people who answered both times; on its own, it cannot show that the program caused that change. Other experiences, a shift in how people read the questions, or regression toward the mean, where unusually low starters tend to score higher anyway, can all move scores.
Confidence and use at work are self-reported, and the 15 silent completers may differ from the 25 who answered. A causal claim needs a comparison group chosen before collection. Check every AI theme against its answers, and let a named person decide what the result means.
Start with one pre and post survey pair this cycle
Pick one upcoming cohort and one expected change, and run both surveys on a single ID before building anything larger.
- Write the result sentence, naming the two points it compares and the decision it informs.
- Choose four to six of the 30 questions, fix the scale labels, and add any post-only questions.
- Make the first form issue each person’s ID, and send the post survey as a personal link that carries it.
- Test three sample records: change one person’s email between surveys and leave one post survey blank. The first must still match; the second must show as unknown.
- After the post survey, count invited, answered and matched, then list who rose, held and fell.
- Read open answers beside scores and write one decision for the next cohort.
After the first cycle you should have one record per person, a result sentence with its pairs and unknowns, and one change to test, like the training team’s practice session for its next cohort.
Frequently asked questions
What is a pre survey?
A pre survey, or baseline survey, is the questionnaire people answer before a program, course or service begins. It records starting knowledge, confidence or conditions so a later post survey can be compared with it. Send it before the first session, and issue each respondent the ID the post survey will carry.
What is a post survey?
A post survey is the questionnaire people answer after the activity. It repeats the pre survey’s core questions with the same wording and scale, and may add post-only questions reported separately. Timing follows the expected change: the last session for learning, a follow-up 30 days or more later for use at work.
What are examples of pre and post survey questions?
“I can explain the main steps of [task]”, rated 1 to 5 before and after, is a typical pair. Add one open question at both points, such as “What is the hardest part of [task] for you right now?” The 30 examples above cover training, workforce readiness, education, leadership and program access.
Is an anonymous pre and post survey valid?
It can be, for describing each group. Without a link between a person’s two answers, you can compare the pre group with the post group but not measure how anyone changed, and a shift in who answered can look like progress. For individual change, use a pseudonymous ID and keep names in a separate lookup.
Does a pre and post improvement prove the program worked?
No. It shows measured change among the people who answered both times. Other experiences, how people read the questions and regression toward the mean can all move scores. Attributing change to the program needs a comparison group or another design planned before collection, plus an account of who did not respond.
