Donald Kirkpatrick
Donald Kirkpatrick (March 15, 1924 – May 9, 2014)
was Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin
in the United States and a past president of the Ameri-
can Society for Training and Development (ASTD). He
is best known for creating a highly influential 'four level'
model for training course evaluation, which served as
the subject of his Ph.D. dissertation in 1954. Kirk-
patrick’s ideas were published to a broader audience in
1959 in a series of articles in the US Training and De-
velopment Journal, but they are better known from a
book he published in 1994 entitled “Evaluating Training
Programs.”[1] Other books that he has written on training Several authors have suggested an addition of a fifth level
evaluation include “Transferring Learning to Behavior”[2] of evaluation. JJ Phillips has argued for the addition of
and “Implementing the Four Levels”,[3]
He died on May 9, 2014.[4]
1 Four Levels of Learning Evalua- fifth level of evaluation should focus on the impact of the
tion
Kirkpatrick’s four levels are designed as a sequence of
ways to evaluate training programs. Many practitioners
believe that as you proceed through each of the levels,
the evaluation becomes more difficult and requires more
time. Clomedia.com Editor suggests “it is best to look
at the levels as a categorization scheme (i.e., their origi-
nal purpose)in order to guide your staff in what levels to
apply to the evaluation task extquotedbl<.[5] In practice,
then, it is common for trainers to get stuck in Levels 1
and 2 and never proceed to Levels 3 and 4, where the
most useful data exist. Today, Kirkpatrick certified facil-
itators stress “starting with the end in mind,” essentially
beginning with Level 4 and moving backwards in order to
better establish the desired outcome before ever planning
the training program. When done strategically, reaching
these levels does not have to be any more expensive or
time consuming, but will still help to ensure on-the-job
performance of learned behaviors and skills.
The four levels of Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model are as
follows:
1. Reaction - what participants thought and felt about
the training (satisfaction; “smile sheets”)
2. Learning - the resulting increase in knowledge
and/or skills, and change in attitudes. This evalua-
tion occurs during the training in the form of either
a knowledge demonstration or test.
3. Behavior - transfer of knowledge, skills, and/or at-
titudes from classroom to the job (change in job
behavior due to training program). This evaluation
occurs 3–6 months post training while the trainee
is performing the job. Evaluation usually occurs
through observation.
4. Results - the final results that occurred because of
attendance and participation in a training program
(can be monetary, performance-based, etc.)
a Return on Investment (ROI) level, which is essentially
about comparing the fourth level of the standard model
to the overall costs of training.[6] Roger Kaufman has ar-
gued that ROI is essentially a Level 4 type of evaluation
because it is still internal to the organization and that a
organization on external clients and society.[7][8][9]
2 References
[1] Kirkpatrick, D.L., & Kirkpatrick, J.D. (1994). Evaluating
Training Programs, Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
[2] Kirkpatrick, D.L., & Kirkpatrick, J.D. (2005). Transfer-
ring Learning to Behavior, Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
[3] Kirkpatrick, D.L., & Kirkpatrick, J.D. (2007). Imple-
menting the Four Levels, Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
[4] http://www.workforce.com/articles/
20467-four-levels-of-measurement-creator-don-kirkpatrick-dies
[5] Evaluation as a Strategic Tool Clomedia.com Editor -
5/17/04
[6] Phillips, J. (1996). How much is the training worth?
Training and Development, 50(4),20-24.
[7] Watkins, R., Leigh, D., Foshay, R. and Kaufman, R.
(1998). Kirkpatrick Plus: Evaluation and Continuous Im-
provement with a Community Focus. Educational Tech-
nology Research & Development, 46(4): 90-96.
[8] Kaufman, R. (1996). Strategic Thinking: A Guide to
Identifying and Solving Problems. Arlington, VA. &
Washington, D.C. Jointly published by the American So-
ciety for Training & Development and the International
Society for Performance Improvement.
1
2 3 EXTERNAL LINKS

[9] Kaufman, R. (2000).Mega Planning: Practical Tools for

Organizational Success. Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage Pub-
lications. (Also Planificación Mega: Herramientas prac-
ticas paral el exito organizacional. (2004). Traducción
de Sonia Agut. Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana,
Espana.)

3 External links
• Don Kirkpatrick’s LinkedIn page: extquotedblhttp:
//www.linkedin.com/in/donaldkirkpatrick/ ex-
tquotedbl

• Don Kirkpatrick: The Father of the Four Levels -

(Biographical article from Chief Learning Officer
Magazine, November 2009): extquotedbl extquot-
edbl
• Examples of a training evaluation tools based on
the Kirkpatrick Model: extquotedblhttp://www.
trainingcheck.com extquotedbl or extquotedblhttp:
//www.impakteo.com extquotedbl
• http://clomedia.com/articles/view/evaluation_as_
a_strategic_tool/2
• Report of Dr. Kirkpatrick’s passing away:
extquotedblhttp://www.workforce.com/articles/
20467-four-levels-of-measurement-creator-don-kirkpatrick-dies
extquotedbl
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