People are more likely to ignore an email from a source that they are unsure of, and many of these types of emails are automatically sent to a spam folder where they will never been viewed by a respondent unlike a correspondence sent home from the school via USPS mail which will immediately be opened without question by a parent.

Are there other reasons you believe emails may not be the best method for soliciting survey responses?

“My son’s school uses email to notify parents about everything. They also send out a recorded random message to be on the lookout for mailed items, or emails with details. Sometimes sending these random messages is the best way to get information to parents versus the child bringing home a note. We get notifications on our cell phones via text messages as well. This was set up at the beginning of the school year as possible ways to notify parents. They use Survey Monkey to send mass surveys to parents. It is quite effective and efficient. I have to say when I get surveys in the mail; I am more apt to put it off then going ahead and taking an emailed survey”.

The auto-call systems are very popular in the schools today.

How would such tools, along with emailed surveys, be construed by those without home phones or the internet?

You make a good point when you ask “…are the surveys being done?” Taking this one step further, how do you know who is completing the surveys and if some complete it more than once?

Develop some ideas for how to ensure your data is not tainted by multiple or non-requested responses being included. I like the idea of a note home to the parents.
However, is there not an element of the population that might be missed using emails? Explain for me.