Kirkpatrick's four levels answer four different questions. Most items give you a real definition and ask which level number it belongs to, so learn the definitions in the model's own words.
The four levels, in order
- Level 1 Reaction — the degree to which participants find the experience favorable, engaging, relevant and supportive.
- Level 2 Learning — the degree to which participants acquire the intended knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence and commitment.
- Level 3 Behavior — the degree to which participants perform the critical behaviors on the job.
- Level 4 Results — the degree to which targeted organizational outcomes occur as a result of the experience or initiative.
Level 3 comes before Level 4, and Reaction before Learning. An answer with the right four words in the wrong order is wrong. So is one renaming Level 4 as ROI.
Matching evidence to level
- An end-of-course knowledge check testing skills, attitude, confidence and commitment is Level 2.
- Observing supervisors ninety days later to see whether they perform the taught behaviors is Level 3.
- A drop in the targeted organizational outcome the initiative was designed to move is Level 4.
- A vendor reporting that 94% of attendees rated the program engaging and relevant is Level 1 only. Favorable, engaging, relevant and supportive are Kirkpatrick's exact Level 1 words. That data says nothing about learning, behavior or results.
The trap is treating Level 3 as results because it is collected on the job. It measures behavior, not the organizational outcome.
When the CFO asks
If a curriculum was funded on a promise to move the business and HR has only smile sheets and quiz scores, the most effective action is to build evaluation at the level of the targeted organizational outcomes the curriculum was funded to move, and report against those. Quiz scores substitute Level 2 for Level 4; more reaction data is the least relevant evidence there is.
Match the evidence to the question being asked.