Evaluation Methods—Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels Donald Kirkpatrick was a professor
emeritus at the University of Wisconsin. He first published his Four-Level Training
Evaluation Model in 1959. The model was updated in 1975 and again in 1994 when he
published his “Evaluating Training Programs.” The following are the four levels of evaluations
he identified:
• Reaction Measuring how participants react to the training
• Learning Measuring how much a participant’s knowledge has increased as a
result of the training
• Behavior Measuring how participant behavior has changed several weeks
following the training
• Results Measuring the outcomes, benefits, or final results of the training
(e.g., increased retention, increased production, higher morale, reduced waste,
increased sales, higher quality ratings)
