When it comes to training evaluation, few names are as influential as Donald Kirkpatrick. His Four Levels of Evaluation have become a key tool for assessing training effectiveness. However, Kirkpatrick himself made it clear that his framework was never intended to be a model. He said, “I never called it a model, it is just 4 simple words.” It is a conceptual framework designed to articulate the intent behind training.

Kirkpatrick’s framework is useful, but it is not a comprehensive model. It provides a starting point for understanding training’s core elements: reaction, learning, behavior, and results. These four levels outline what training aims to achieve, but they don’t explain how these elements are connected or at what level they occur.

The framework helps clarify the purpose of training and encourages us to think about it from different angles: participant feedback, knowledge transfer, application in the workplace, and business impact. However, these levels are broad and don’t specify how these concepts relate to each other.

Kirkpatrick never developed a theory to link these elements. The good news is that we have the opportunity to build that theory ourselves. The four levels are the foundation, but we must create the connections between them. By clearly defining our principles and theories, and applying scientific rigor, we can test and refine our assumptions.

In practice, the four levels serve as a strategic framework. They allow us to identify the goals and intentions of our training. By integrating them with a solid theoretical foundation, we can evaluate whether the outcomes align with the original objectives.

In conclusion, Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels provide a starting point, not a complete model. They offer a useful structure for training evaluation, but the real value comes from creating connections between these elements through a well-developed theory. This is something we, as practitioners, must continuously refine. By doing so, we can ensure that our training programs produce measurable, meaningful results.