---
title: "Kirkpatrick Model | Curriculum Development"
description: "Kirkpatrick Model is a four-level training evaluation framework in Curriculum Development that checks reaction, learning, behavior, and results."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/curriculum-development/key-terms/kirkpatrick-model"
type: "key-term"
subject: "Curriculum Development"
unit: "Unit 4"
---

# Kirkpatrick Model | Curriculum Development

## Definition

The Kirkpatrick Model is a four-level framework for evaluating training in Curriculum Development. It measures reaction, learning, behavior, and results, so you can judge whether a program actually changes performance.

## What It Is

The Kirkpatrick Model is a way to evaluate training or instructional programs in Curriculum Development by looking at four layers of evidence: reaction, learning, behavior, and results. Instead of stopping at whether people liked the session, the model pushes you to ask whether they actually learned anything, used it later, and produced a real outcome.

Level 1, Reaction, looks at how participants respond right after the training. Did they think it was clear, relevant, and worth their time? This is the easiest level to collect because it often comes from surveys, exit tickets, or short feedback forms, but it only tells you whether the experience felt useful, not whether it worked.

Level 2, Learning, checks what changed in knowledge, skills, or attitudes. In a curriculum class, this might mean a pretest and posttest, a skills demonstration, or a written reflection showing that learners can explain a new strategy. This level gets closer to the actual instructional goal because it measures what people now know or can do.

Level 3, Behavior, asks whether learners are using the new skill in a real setting. A teacher may know a new classroom management routine after a workshop, but the question is whether they actually use it a month later. This level often needs observation, follow-up interviews, supervisor reports, or work samples because behavior does not always show up immediately.

Level 4, Results, looks at the bigger outcome tied to the organization, school, or program. That could be better completion rates, stronger student performance, fewer safety errors, higher productivity, or another measurable change that matters to the institution. In Curriculum Development, this level helps connect instruction to the reason the training was designed in the first place.

The model is especially useful in educational needs assessments because it gives you a structure for deciding what kind of evidence is missing. If learners liked a session but did not change what they do, the problem may be the training design, the follow-up support, or the relevance of the content. If behavior changed but results did not, you may need to rethink the goal or the broader system around the training. That is why the Kirkpatrick Model is less about one score and more about tracing the chain from instruction to impact.

## Why It Matters

The Kirkpatrick Model matters in Curriculum Development because it keeps evaluation tied to actual learning goals instead of surface-level approval. A program can get great feedback forms and still fail to improve performance, so this framework reminds you to look beyond satisfaction and check for evidence at each stage.

That makes it especially useful when you are doing an educational needs assessment. If you discover a gap between current and desired performance, the model helps you ask what kind of fix is needed: better content, stronger practice, follow-up support, or a different organizational condition. It also gives you language for explaining why an intervention did or did not work.

In school, workplace, or adult training settings, the model helps you judge whether a curriculum is actually reaching its purpose. That is a big deal in Curriculum Development because design decisions, assessment choices, and revisions all depend on evaluation data that goes beyond opinion. The four levels also give you a clean way to organize a paper, case study, or program review when you need to recommend improvements.

## Connections

### Training Evaluation

The Kirkpatrick Model is one way to do training evaluation. Training evaluation is the broader process of judging whether an instructional program works, while Kirkpatrick gives you a simple four-level structure for collecting that evidence. If you are asked to evaluate a workshop or staff development session, this model helps you decide which data to gather and how to interpret it.

### [Performance Needs Assessment](/curriculum-development/key-terms/performance-needs-assessment)

A performance needs assessment identifies the gap between current performance and desired performance. The Kirkpatrick Model helps you check whether training is a good response to that gap, especially at the behavior and results levels. If the problem is not a knowledge gap, the model can show that a training solution may not be enough on its own.

### [Learning Outcomes](/curriculum-development/key-terms/learning-outcomes)

Learning outcomes connect directly to Level 2, Learning, because they state what learners should know or be able to do after instruction. In curriculum work, you use outcomes to design the training, then use evaluation to see whether those outcomes were actually reached. Strong outcomes make the Kirkpatrick Model easier to apply because they tell you what evidence to look for.

### Return on Investment (ROI)

ROI is often discussed alongside the fourth level because both focus on payoff, not just participation. Kirkpatrick Level 4 asks whether the program produced measurable results, while ROI pushes that question into cost and value. In a curriculum or training project, ROI is what you use when someone asks whether the program was worth the resources.

## On the AP Exam

A quiz question or case study may give you a training scenario and ask which level of the Kirkpatrick Model matches each piece of evidence. For example, a survey about whether participants liked the workshop is Level 1, a posttest on the content is Level 2, a later classroom observation is Level 3, and a rise in student outcomes or program performance is Level 4. You may also be asked to critique a weak evaluation plan, and the move is to point out when it stops at reaction data and misses behavior or results. In essays and short answers, use the model to show the full chain from training design to impact.

## Kirkpatrick Model vs ADDIE Model

The ADDIE Model is a curriculum design process, while the Kirkpatrick Model is an evaluation framework. ADDIE helps you build the instruction, and Kirkpatrick helps you judge whether that instruction worked. They often appear in the same project, but they answer different questions.

## Key Takeaways

- The Kirkpatrick Model evaluates training in four steps: reaction, learning, behavior, and results.
- It starts with participant feedback, but it does not stop there, because liking a session is not the same as changing performance.
- In Curriculum Development, the model is useful for educational needs assessments and program review because it shows where a training effort is succeeding or failing.
- Level 3 and Level 4 usually require more than a quick survey, so you may need observations, follow-up data, or outcome measures.
- The model works best when you want to connect instruction to real-world impact, not just immediate satisfaction.

## FAQs

### What is the Kirkpatrick Model in Curriculum Development?

The Kirkpatrick Model is a four-level framework for evaluating training or instructional programs. It looks at reaction, learning, behavior, and results so you can judge whether a curriculum actually changes what people know and do. In Curriculum Development, it is often used when reviewing workshops, staff training, or other learning programs.

### What are the four levels of the Kirkpatrick Model?

The four levels are Reaction, Learning, Behavior, and Results. Reaction asks how participants felt about the training, Learning checks what they learned, Behavior looks at whether they use it later, and Results measures the final impact on the organization or setting. The levels move from immediate feedback to broader outcomes.

### Is the Kirkpatrick Model the same as training design?

No. The Kirkpatrick Model is about evaluation, not building the training itself. If you are designing a program, you might use a model like ADDIE, but if you are judging whether the program worked, Kirkpatrick is the better fit. They are often used together in Curriculum Development.

### How do you use the Kirkpatrick Model in a needs assessment?

You use it to figure out where the gap is showing up. If learners react positively but do not improve on a pretest, the issue may be learning. If they learn the content but never apply it, the issue may be behavior or follow-up support. That makes the model useful for deciding what kind of curriculum change is actually needed.

## Related Study Guides

- [4.1 Conducting Educational Needs Assessments](/curriculum-development/unit-4/conducting-educational-assessments/study-guide/gofMlQQLxUvM6PAz)

## About This Document

Canonical Fiveable pages are available as Markdown at the same path plus `.md`.

- [llms.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms.txt): index of Fiveable's sections and URL patterns
- [llms-full.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms-full.txt): complete subject and unit listing
- [MCP server](https://fiveable.me/mcp): call Fiveable as tools instead of fetching pages (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp`)
- [MCP server for AP teachers](https://fiveable.me/mcp/teachers): a teacher's classes, assignments and AP-rubric grading (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp/teacher`)

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