Donald Kirkpatrick now refers to his Kirkpatrick Four Level Evaluation Model as the Kirkpatrick Model. I think this is brilliant.

Why? Well, creating an excellent training program has always required these pre-training steps, but most people focus on evaluation and measurement after the training is designed. Kirkpatrick wants to ensure that training professionals are finally thinking of evaluation and measurement throughout the entire process.

The four levels of the Kirkpatrick Model are:

• Level 1: Reaction, which is to what degree participants react favorably to the learning event.
  
• Level 2: Learning, which is to what degree participants acquire the intended knowledge, skills, and attitudes based on their participation in the learning event.
  
• Level 3: Behavior, which is to what degree participants apply what they learned during the training when they are back on the job.
  
• Level 4: Results, which is to what degree targeted outcomes occur as a result of the learning event or events and subsequent reinforcement.

Remember, these levels are not just done after the training event, but must be done before the training event is even designed to ensure successful measurement, indicating that the training event achieved what it set out to achieve.