The Origin of the Four Levels: The Domains of Learning

Although Kirkpatrick makes no reference to Benjamin Bloom's earlier work on learning objectives (see Fastpaths 1956, Bloom), Kirkpatrick essentially translates Bloom's three kinds of learning (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) into three levels of evaluation. "Attitudes" become Level 1 evaluation (opinion); "knowledge" becomes Level 2 evaluation (cognitive tests); and "skills" on-the-job become Level 3 evaluation. Kirkpatrick then adds a fourth level, namely financial impact of the training. The following chart summarizes the comparison:

Bloom's Three Learning Domains	Kirkpatrick's Four Evaluation Levels
Emotional (Attitude) Mental (Knowledge) Physical (Skills)	Emotional (Attitude toward the course) Mental (Tests in class) Physical (Transfer to on-the-job skills) Financial (Additional)

Fastpaths

1956	Benjamin Bloom: Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Bloom's three domains of learning objectives are precursors of Kirkpatrick's four levels of evaluation.
1959	Donald Kirkpatrick's series of four articles in Training magazine on "Techniques for Evaluating Training Programs," in which he formulates the four levels of evaluation.
1971	James Block: Mastery Learning: Theory and Practice.
1973	Robert Mager: Measuring Instructional Intent. A classic text on testing and measurement. Republished numerous times.
1989	Dana and James Robinson: Training for Impact: How to Link Training to Business Needs and Measure the Results.
1994	Donald Kirkpatrick: Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels.
1995	John Noonan: Elevators: How to Move Training Up from the Basement. See his chapter on "Evaluation," with its creative suggestions for Level 1 surveys to produce Level 4 approximations in an organization.
1997	Jack Phillips: Handbook of Training Evaluation and Measurement Methods. One of several titles by Phillips, who specializes in evaluation.
1999	Odin Westgaard: Tests That Work.
1999	Richard Swanson and E. Holton: Results: How to Assess Performance, Learning, and Perceptions in Organizations.
2000	Jac Fitz-enz: The ROI of Human Capital.
2002	Judith Hale: Performance-Based Evaluation: Tools and Techniques to Measure the Impact of Training. Hale, an expert on evaluation, re-emphasizes the crucial distinction between academic knowledge-based tests (Level 2) and actual on-the-job performance-based evaluations (Level 3).

See also Return on Investment and Cost-Benefit Analysis

What gets measured, gets done.

—Roger Chevalier, 2002