AT+D classic: how to start an objective evaluation of your training program.(Fundamentals)(Excerpt)

This excerpt is part of a larger article with the same title that originally appeared in the May-June 1956 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Training Directors, a predecessor to T+D. The article heralded Kirkpatrick's now classic four-level evaluation model.

Most training men agree that it is important to evaluate training programs. They also feel that the evaluation should be done by objective means. However, the typical training man uses evaluation sheets or comment sheets as the sole measure of the effectiveness of his programs. He realizes he should do more, but he just doesn't know how to begin an objective evaluation.

According the Raymond Katzell, a well-known authority in this field, the evaluation of a training program falls into a hierarchy of steps that can be briefly stated as follows:

Step One. To determine how the trainees feel about the program.

Step Two. To determine how much the trainees learn in the form of increased knowledge and understanding.

Step Three. To measure the changes in the …