Parent Survey online: Send texts for families to complete surveys on their smart phones

The LENA Start Parent Survey can be completed on paper or online via a texted link. Follow these steps to text a unique link to each primary caregiver in his or her preferred language.

For Session 1 and Graduation, send Parent Survey entry texts from the LENA Online Session Preparation screen for your group.

  1. Click the Send button.  
  2. A pop-up will indicate the number of texts to be sent. Confirm.
  3. LENA sends a text to each primary caregiver who has a valid texting number. The text contains a secure link that is specific to the caregiver's child, and presents the survey in the caregiver's preferred language (English or Spanish). 
  4. Caregivers then click on the link and use their smart phones to complete the survey.

Results should appear on the Parent Survey screen 1-2 days after the parent completes the survey.

Note: The Session Prep screen contains potentially sensitive information. To avoid accidentally displaying this to the class, do not send while projecting or sharing your screen.

Online Parent Survey FAQs

What if the text messages go to a caregiver who is not at the session?

It is critical for valid data collection for the same caregiver to complete the Parent Survey each time (Session 1 and Session 10). Do not have the caregiver in attendance complete a survey, but ask them to remind the caregiver who receives texts from LENA to complete it within the next day.

What if the caregiver does not have their phone with them that day?

Coordinators can use a paper copy of the Parent Survey form at this session, and the caregiver can ignore the text link when they return to their phone.

What if the caregiver does not have internet access on their phone?

Provide a paper copy of the Parent Survey for the caregiver to complete.

The caregiver didn't get the text. Can I re-send?

Re-sending is not recommended, because the feature automatically sends links to the entire group. It would be best to have the parent fill out the survey on paper instead.

If there are issues with other LENA Online texts as well, you may want to troubleshoot texting problems.

Parents completed the survey online, but there's still nothing showing for them in the Parent Survey screen.

It takes at least one day for a completed survey to appear in LENA Online. If it has been more than 4 days since the parent submitted a survey and saw the confirmation screen, please contact [email protected] and provide the child's LENA ID or the caregiver's ID so that we can investigate.

What if a family submits both a paper form and an online survey?

Only the online responses will be used.

What if a caregiver makes a mistake and wants to change their survey after submitting?

Find out what the caregiver intended to input, and edit the survey.