OVERVIEW

After developing program objectives, the next step for an effective program evaluation is to design good learning measures. To measure learning is to provide the opportunity to determine if "they GOT it!" Learning is the step upon which all other results depend. Unfortunately, designing appropriate and effective learning measures is, next to defining measurable objectives, the biggest area of neglect. Let's rectify that situation.

There are many potential factors that inhibit job performance. Some examples are:

• Unreliable or poorly designed support systems

• Little opportunity to apply the skills learned

• Little or no peer- or supervisor-coaching

• Poor job design

• Changing procedures

• Heavy workload

These barriers to performance can be complex and difficult to overcome. Isn't it just easier to blame the training? Often, that is what is done. That is why the program designer must put measures in place to determine the extent to which the program was effective in imparting knowledge or teaching skills. This is important not just to demonstrate that the program did its job but to help identify the many other job performance components, such as those listed above, that must be attended to in addition to the program.

Learning measures need to be practical for implementation and analysis. But rules for good test construction and validation must be adhered to, or the measures can cause ethical as well as practical problems. Ebel (1961) has outlined six requisites for the test designer:

1. Know the uses, as well as the limitations, of tests.

2. Know the criteria...