Evaluation Form Templates: Examples, Format and Questions

An evaluation form is a structured set of questions that rates a person, program, product or service against clear criteria, usually with a rating scale for each criterion and space for comments and next steps. The most common types are employee performance, self-evaluation, course and training, event, vendor, customer service and interview evaluation forms. Below you will find the format they share, sample questions for each type, how to pick a rating scale, and free templates you can copy.

What an evaluation form is (and is not)

An evaluation form judges something against a standard. That is what separates it from a general feedback form or survey:

	Evaluation form	Feedback form	Survey
Purpose	Rate against defined criteria	Collect open opinions	Measure opinions across a group
Typical respondent	Manager, student, customer, interviewer	Anyone	A sample of a population
Output	A score or verdict per criterion, plus evidence	Comments and suggestions	Percentages and trends
Example	Annual performance review	"How was your visit?"	Employee engagement survey

In practice the line is blurry (a course evaluation is also a survey of students), but thinking in criteria keeps an evaluation form focused. If you can't say what "good" looks like for a question, it probably doesn't belong on the form.

Types of evaluation forms

Type	Who fills it in	What it evaluates	Template
Employee performance evaluation	Manager	Work quality, goals, behaviors	Employee evaluation form
Self-evaluation	Employee	Own results, strengths, goals	Adapt the employee evaluation form
360-degree / supervisor evaluation	Peers, reports, managers	A colleague's or manager's working style	360 degree feedback form
Course evaluation	Students	Content, instructor, workload	Course evaluation survey
Training evaluation	Employees after training	Relevance, learning, application	Employee training feedback form
Event evaluation	Attendees	Sessions, speakers, logistics	See our post-event survey questions
Vendor / supplier evaluation	Procurement or project owner	Quality, delivery, price, service	Build from the structure below
Customer service evaluation	Customers	A support interaction	Customer service evaluation form
Interview evaluation	Interviewers	A candidate against role criteria	Interview feedback form

Evaluation form format: what to include

Most good evaluation forms follow the same six-part format, whatever they evaluate.

Context. Who or what is being evaluated, by whom, for which period or session. For example: employee name, role, reviewer, review period. Keep this short, and pre-fill it where you can.
Criteria. Four to eight specific things you are rating. "Communication" is vague; "Keeps stakeholders updated without being chased" is ratable.
A rating scale for each criterion. The same scale throughout, with labeled points so two raters mean the same thing by a "4".
Evidence. A comment box after key ratings or at the end of each section: "Give an example." Ratings without evidence are hard to act on and hard to defend.
An overall judgment. One overall rating or recommendation (meets expectations, hire / no hire, renew / don't renew).
Next steps and sign-off. Goals, actions, owner and date, plus a signature or name if the form is a formal record.

Write criteria before you write questions. Then turn each criterion into one question. That habit alone removes most of the padding found in downloadable evaluation form samples.

Evaluation form examples with sample questions

Use these question sets as a starting point. Each one is short on purpose; add criteria specific to your role, course or contract.

Employee performance evaluation form

Used for annual, mid-year or probation reviews. Rate each item on a labeled 1-5 scale (1 = well below expectations, 5 = well above).

Quality of work: accurate, thorough, meets the standard for the role
Productivity and reliability: delivers on time, manages workload
Communication: clear, timely, keeps others informed
Teamwork and collaboration
Initiative and problem solving
What were this person's key achievements this period?
Which areas should they develop next?
Overall performance: does not meet / partly meets / meets / exceeds / far exceeds expectations
Goals for the next period, with measures and dates
Reviewer signature

Our employee evaluation form template has exactly this structure, including a reviewer signature.

Self-evaluation form

Give employees the same criteria their manager will use, so the review conversation compares like with like.

What are you most proud of this period?
Which goals did you meet, and which did you miss? Why?
Rate yourself on each core criterion (same 1-5 scale as the manager form)
What got in your way?
What skill do you want to build next, and what support would help?
What should your manager start, stop or continue doing to help you?

360-degree and supervisor evaluation form

Collected from peers, direct reports and managers, usually anonymously. Use agreement statements (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).

How do you work with this person? (manager / peer / direct report / other)
They communicate clearly and keep people informed.
They collaborate well and help others succeed.
They deliver on what they commit to.
They give me clear direction and priorities. (for supervisors)
They give useful feedback and support my growth. (for supervisors)
What should they keep doing?
What one thing could they do better?

A supervisor evaluation form is the same idea aimed upward: direct reports rate their manager. Anonymity matters even more here, so only report results when enough people have answered that no single person can be identified. The 360 degree feedback form template covers both uses.

Course evaluation form

Completed by students at the end of a course or term.

Overall, how would you rate this course? (stars)
The course was well organized. (agreement)
The content was relevant and up to date.
The instructor explained things clearly.
The instructor was available and helpful.
The workload was: too light / about right / too heavy
How useful were the materials and resources?
What helped you learn most?
What should be improved?
Would you recommend this course to others?

Start from the course evaluation survey template.

Training evaluation form

For workplace training, the Kirkpatrick model is the common reference. It evaluates four levels: reaction, learning, behavior and results. A form handed out at the end of a session can cover the first two and set up the third.

Overall, how would you rate the training? (reaction)
How relevant was it to your job? (reaction)
How would you rate the trainer?
Before the training, how confident were you in this topic? (1-5)
How confident are you now? (1-5, a quick self-reported learning measure)
How will you use what you learned in the next month? (behavior)
What support would help you apply it?
What should we change about the training?

Behavior and results need a follow-up form a few weeks later, sent to the participant and ideally their manager. The employee training feedback form template is built on this model.

Event evaluation form

Overall, how would you rate the event?
How valuable were the sessions? Which was the best?
How would you rate the speakers?
How was the venue or streaming platform?
How easy was registration and check-in?
Did the event meet your expectations?
How likely are you to recommend this event to a colleague? (0-10)
What should we change next time?

For question sets by event type (conference, workshop, webinar, internal event) and timing advice, see post-event survey questions.

Vendor or supplier evaluation form

Filled in internally, often quarterly or before a contract renewal. Rate each on 1-5 and ask for evidence on anything below 3.

Quality of goods or services against the agreed specification
On-time delivery
Responsiveness and communication
Accuracy of invoices and paperwork
Price competitiveness and value
Handling of problems and complaints
Compliance with contract terms, policies and any required certifications
Main strengths of this vendor
Issues that need a corrective action, with owner and date
Recommendation: renew / renew with conditions / review alternatives / end

Customer service and client evaluation form

Sent to a customer after a support interaction or, for agencies and consultants, at the end of a project.

How did you contact us? (chat, email, phone, in person)
Was your issue resolved?
(If not) What is still unresolved?
How easy was it to get the help you needed? (1-7)
How would you rate the speed of our response?
How knowledgeable was the person who helped you?
How friendly and respectful were they?
Overall, how satisfied are you with the service?

For a client evaluation form at project end, add: "Did we deliver what was agreed?", "How was communication during the project?", "How likely are you to work with us again?" and "Can we quote you?". The customer service evaluation form template skips the "what is unresolved" question automatically when the issue was resolved.

Interview evaluation form

Used by every interviewer on the panel, filled in right after the interview and before the debrief, so opinions don't converge.

Candidate name, role, interview stage
Relevant skills and experience (1-5)
Problem solving (1-5)
Communication (1-5)
Alignment with the team's values (1-5, define the values on the form)
Strengths, with examples from the interview
Concerns, with examples
Recommendation: strong hire / hire / no hire / strong no hire

Score against the role's criteria, not against the other candidates. The interview feedback form template gives you this scorecard.

Choosing a rating scale

The scale matters more than people expect, because it decides whether two evaluators' scores are comparable.

Scale	Best for	Watch out for
1-5 stars	Quick overall ratings (course, event, service)	Stars mean different things to different people
1-5 agreement (strongly disagree to strongly agree)	Statements about behavior (360, course)	Write statements, not questions
Performance levels (does not meet ... exceeds)	Employee reviews, vendor reviews	Define each level in the form
0-10 likelihood	Recommend / return questions (NPS-style)	Only for likelihood, not quality
Yes / no	Pass-fail criteria (issue resolved, compliant)	Hides partial results
Frequency (never ... always)	Behaviors that should happen consistently	Needs a clear time frame

A few rules that hold for every type:

Label the points, at least the ends and the middle. "3 = meets expectations" turns a number into a standard.
Odd or even. An odd scale (1-5) gives a neutral middle; an even scale (1-4 or 1-6) forces a lean. Use odd for opinions, consider even when raters habitually hide in the middle.
Keep one scale per form where you can. Switching between 5-point and 10-point scales slows people down and makes results harder to compare.
Add "not applicable" for criteria that don't apply to everyone, otherwise people pick the middle and skew the average.

Best practices for evaluation forms

Rate behaviors and outcomes, not personality. "Meets deadlines" is fair; "has a good attitude" invites bias.
Keep it short. Four to eight criteria per form. If every criterion is important, none is.
Ask for examples. A comment box after low and high ratings gives the score meaning and gives the evaluated person something to work with.
Use the same form for everyone in the same role or course, so results can be compared fairly over time.
Decide on anonymity before you launch. Peer, upward and course evaluations work best anonymously; manager reviews and interview scorecards are named records. Tell respondents which one it is.
Collect independently. Interviewers and 360 reviewers should submit before they discuss, or the loudest opinion wins.
Close the loop. Share what changed because of the evaluations. People who see results take the next form more seriously.
Review the form once a year. Drop questions nobody uses in decisions; add criteria when the role or course changes.

How to create an evaluation form in FlowyForm

FlowyForm shows one question at a time, which works well for evaluations people fill in on a phone between meetings or at the end of a class.

Start from a template above, or from scratch, and list your criteria first.
Add one opinion scale question per criterion with labels at each end (for example 1 = well below expectations, 5 = well above). Use rating (stars) for quick overall scores, multiple choice for performance levels and recommendations, and long text for evidence. FlowyForm has no matrix or grid question, so each criterion is its own screen; for a form with dozens of criteria filled in at a desk, a grid-style tool may be faster.
Add logic so a low rating opens a "What happened?" follow-up, and a "No" on "Was your issue resolved?" asks what is still open.
Pre-fill context with hidden fields, such as ?course=bio101&term=fall or ?vendor=acme, so respondents don't type it and every response is tagged. Skip identifying hidden fields when the evaluation is anonymous.
Add a signature block for formal reviews; see collecting digital signatures.
Share it by link, QR code (handy at the end of a class or event) or by embedding it on your intranet, or on a course page if your LMS allows embeds.
Send responses where you work: each one can become a row in Google Sheets, a Slack message, or a webhook to your HR or procurement system. Export everything to CSV for analysis.

FAQ

What is an evaluation form?

An evaluation form is a document or online form used to rate a person, program, product or service against set criteria. It usually combines a rating scale for each criterion, space for comments or evidence, an overall verdict and next steps.

What should be included in an evaluation form?

Context (who or what is evaluated, by whom, when), four to eight specific criteria, a labeled rating scale, comment fields for evidence, an overall rating or recommendation, and next steps with a sign-off if it is a formal record.

What is the best rating scale for an evaluation form?

A labeled 1-5 scale suits most evaluations. Use agreement scales for behavior statements, defined performance levels for employee and vendor reviews, and 0-10 only for "how likely are you to recommend" questions.

How many questions should an evaluation form have?

Usually 8 to 15 in total: a few context fields, four to eight rated criteria, two or three open questions and an overall verdict. Longer forms get rushed answers.

Should evaluation forms be anonymous?

Peer, upward (supervisor), course and event evaluations usually should be, because honesty drops when people can be identified. Performance reviews, vendor reviews and interview scorecards are named, since they are records someone has to stand behind.

Can I make an evaluation form for free?

Yes. FlowyForm's free plan includes unlimited responses, all question types, logic, signatures and Google Sheets, Slack and webhook integrations, so any of the templates above can be used without paying.

Evaluation Forms: Templates, Examples and Sample Questions