Kirkpatrick Partners defines the four levels in specific words, and the exam's work is deciding which level a given measure belongs to. Learn the definitions, not the labels.
The four levels, in order
- Level 1 Reaction — the degree to which the target audience finds the experience or initiative favorable, engaging, relevant, and supportive of the work needed to achieve the targeted outcomes.
- Level 2 Learning — the degree to which the target audience acquires the intended knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence, and commitment necessary to achieve the targeted outcomes.
- Level 3 Behavior — the degree to which the audience performs the critical behaviors in its environment, and is supported in and accountable for that performance.
- Level 4 Results — the degree to which targeted organizational outcomes occur as a result of the experience or initiative.
The sequence is Reaction, Learning, Behavior, Results. Swapping Learning and Behavior is the common misordering.
The two definitions that carry the questions
Attitude, confidence, and commitment sit inside Level 2, alongside knowledge and skills. Asking whether new hires came out of onboarding confident and committed is a Level 2 question, not Level 1 favorability and not Level 4 organisational outcome.
Support and accountability are part of Level 3 itself, not an extra. Level 3 is not satisfied by merely observing whether people use a skill. It does not require converting behaviour to a monetary value, and it does not require a control group of untrained employees.
Diagnosing a failure
Learners score well on the end-of-course assessment, but six months later nothing changed in how work is performed and supervisors never discussed the new behaviours. Level 2 was achieved; Level 3 was not, because the environment provided neither support for nor accountability for the critical behaviours. Demonstrating a skill during the course is not on-the-job behaviour.
What a single measure covers
End-of-session ratings of how favorable and relevant learners found a programme are Level 1 only, leaving Level 2 acquisition, Level 3 on-the-job behaviour and Level 4 organisational outcomes unmeasured. Do not credit levels for which no measurement is described.
When a sponsor asks whether the programme moved the business outcomes it cared about, that is Level 4 — one level beyond Level 3 behaviour.