An Integrated Training Assessment Program

Some of the most profound benefits integrated testing and assessment programs can provide are to the organization. Think about the four levels of evaluation: participant reaction, participant learning, behavior change and impact on the business. By incorporating these systematic evaluations consistently into a training program, you can prove that learning within the program has a significant impact on the driving concerns of the business—revenue, profits, employee retention, market share and, ultimately, customer satisfaction. Testing and assessment as part of the learning process is efficient and reliable and provides immediate results.

You may argue that you do not have the time, money or incentive to implement an integrated testing and assessment program into your learning system. If you take training seriously, you need to take the evaluation of training seriously by asking whether the training works. If you want employees to walk away from a training program with actual job skills that can translate to benefits for the employee and the organization—not just a certificate and a fancy binder—you need to provide proof of effectiveness.

It is time to require staff and vendors to embed testing and assessment into each curriculum and learning opportunity. You should be asking your e-learning providers how they do this, and you should be evaluating them based on their answer. It is time to encourage employees to embrace testing and assessment as a tool that promotes and demonstrates continued learning and performance improvement.

So, where do you begin? It is important to remember that an assessment instrument is most effective when used as part of the total training system, but it is likely to be very counterproductive when used inappropriately. Often inappropriate use comes from not having a clear understanding of what is being measured and why. You can begin integrating testing and assessment into your learning programs by identifying what it is you want to accomplish with the assessment program in order to select the appropriate tools to achieve your mission. Just as you wouldn't use a knife to eat tomato soup, you would find a certification test quite useless in measuring the effectiveness of the instructor. It is absolutely critical to have a clear understanding of what needs to be measured and for what purpose.



An Integrated Training Assessment Program - To learn more about this author, visit Dr. Fathi El-Nadi's Website.

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