Evaluating Development Learning

Abstract

Evidence-based evaluation of adult learning (training and capacity development) programs is essential for guiding investment decisions regarding such programs. But standard practice for evaluation of training and development programs relies on participants' self-reports regarding the quality, effectiveness, and impact of such training. More rigorous evaluation methods — including reliable measures of learning; evaluation designs that include multiple methods of data collection, scientific sampling, and randomized control trials (RCTs); and multivariate analyses — are rarely found in the training and development literature, which compromises the utility of these evaluations.This submission presents methods for increasing the rigor of evaluation of adult learning events, describes how these methods were put to use in one organization, and — drawing on these evaluations — identifies the features of effective programs.