Kirkpatrick Model
The Kirkpatrick model evaluates training effectiveness across four levels: Reaction, Learning, Behavior and Results.
The Kirkpatrick model is the classic framework for measuring training impact: Level 1 Reaction (did learners find it useful), Level 2 Learning (did they gain knowledge or skills), Level 3 Behavior (are they applying it), and Level 4 Results (did it affect business outcomes).
Moving up the levels, especially to behavior and results, is where learning proves its value to the business, and where analytics and on-the-job data matter most.
How Kirkpatrick Model works in Violetinfo.ai
VInsights links learning data to behavior and business outcomes, helping L&D evaluate training against Kirkpatrick’s higher levels, not just completion.
The four Kirkpatrick levels explained
Level 1, Reaction, captures how participants felt about the training: whether it was relevant, engaging and worth their time. It is usually measured with post-session surveys. Level 2, Learning, measures the knowledge, skills, attitudes or confidence gained, typically through pre and post assessments, practical demonstrations or simulations.
Level 3, Behavior, asks whether people apply what they learned back on the job. Evidence comes from manager observation, performance data, checklists or follow-up surveys weeks after training. Level 4, Results, looks at the business outcomes the training was meant to influence, such as quality, safety incidents, customer satisfaction, sales or retention.
Why most organizations stop at Levels 1 and 2
Reaction and learning data are easy to collect inside a learning platform, so many L&D teams report completion rates, satisfaction scores and quiz results and stop there. Behavior and results require data from outside the learning system, cooperation from managers and a longer time frame.
The trouble is that positive reaction and passing scores do not guarantee changed behavior. Leaders funding training usually care most about Levels 3 and 4, so evaluation that never reaches them makes it hard to defend budgets or improve programs.
How to apply the Kirkpatrick model well
A widely recommended practice is to plan evaluation in reverse. Start by agreeing on the Level 4 results the business wants, then define the Level 3 behaviors that would drive those results, then the Level 2 learning needed for those behaviors, and finally the Level 1 experience that supports learning.
Agree on measures and baselines with stakeholders before launch, involve managers in reinforcing and observing new behaviors, and allow enough time for change to show up in performance data. Not every program needs full four-level evaluation; reserve the deeper effort for strategic or high-cost initiatives.
Kirkpatrick, Phillips and learning ROI
The Phillips ROI Methodology, developed by Jack Phillips, extends the Kirkpatrick model with a fifth level: return on investment. It converts Level 4 results into monetary value, isolates the effect of training from other factors and compares the net benefit against the full program cost. Kirkpatrick tells you whether training worked; Phillips asks whether it was worth the money.
In practice, the two frameworks are complementary. Kirkpatrick provides the chain of evidence from reaction through to results, and Phillips adds the financial lens that finance teams and executives often request. Using both helps L&D report on learning in the same language the rest of the business uses for its investments.
Frequently asked questions
What are the four levels of the Kirkpatrick model?
The four levels are Reaction, Learning, Behavior and Results. Together they move from how learners felt about training to whether it changed on-the-job behavior and business outcomes.
Which Kirkpatrick level is the hardest to measure?
Level 4, Results, is generally the hardest to measure because business outcomes are influenced by many factors besides training. Measuring it well requires baselines, data from business systems and a method for estimating how much of the change the training caused.
Is there a fifth level of the Kirkpatrick model?
The original model has four levels, but the Phillips ROI Methodology adds a fifth level that measures return on investment. That level converts results into monetary value and compares them with the total cost of the program.