The eLearning Guild : Measuring e-Learning Success 2008 : Research Library

Published Date: 08/21/2008

MEASURING LEARNING SUCCESS

Aligning Learning Success with Business Success
by Steve Wexler and Will Thalheimer

This Guild Research 360° Report is one of the most thorough we've ever published and deals with two fundamental issues that are at the core of learning endeavors:

When you test, are you truly able to show that someone has learned something; and,
Are you able to show that your learning interventions benefit your organization?

If you’re flummoxed by the questions above, take comfort in knowing that you have a LOT of company! This research report shows that only 22.7% are able to do the measurement they want to do, and only 12.4% have data that shows that their measurement approach provides value to the organization. So, what is it that these 12.4% of survey respondents do differently from the other 87.6%% that adds value to their organization? How do they measure learning and how do they show business impact? We will closely examine what these organizations do, as well as pick the collective brains of some extraordinary people to see how to conduct effective assessment and measurement on both the micro and macro levels.

Better visualizations – We’ve rebuilt most of the charts, so that that you can interpret the data more easily.

More and better data – We’re drawing from more sources, and have even more survey responses than last year (1,375 vs. 900). And readers who need to access up-to-the-minute accurate data may do so using the Guild’s Direct Data Access portfolio.

Product Comparisons – We’ve completely updated the Testing and Assessment tools side-by-side comparisons, making it easy to see the relative strengths and weaknesses of each tool.

Best Practices – In this totally new section, we carefully examine what it is that Guild members who report the best results do differently from other Guild members.

New Essay—Evaluating e-Learning 2.0: Getting our Heads Around the Complexity - In this Learning Solutions eZine article, Will Thalheimer addresses the compound challenges of evaluating the effectiveness of Web 2.0 approaches to learning.

With dedicated Mobile survey data from 1,375 Guild members and learning modality preferences from over 2,800 members, Guild Research is able to definitively answer the following questions:

Which tools enjoy the greatest market share, broken down by organization size and industry?
What are the satisfaction ratings for the various tools for dozens of specific capabilities?
What do members that report very good results do differently from everybody else?
What are the most important reasons for measuring results, broken down by industry and organization size?
To what extent are Guild members employing Kirkpatrick Level II – IV assessment approaches?
How do results in Europe and Asia differ from those in the U.S. and Canada?
What things are holding Guild members back from doing the type of learning measurement they want to do?
Are your needs and priorities in alignment with your peers that work in similar organizations?

Here are just some of the findings from this report:

72.3% of Guild organizations use online testing and assessment approaches sometimes or often.
42.4% of Guild members personally use testing and assessment tools and of this group, almost half use more than one tool.
Adobe Captivate enjoys the largest market share with 43.7% of Guild members that use a Testing and Assessment tool indicating that they use this product.
12.4% of survey respondents have data showing very high value from their measurement approaches (up from 10.9% one year ago).
High performers are two to three times more likely to hire outside assistance and engage in more, and more complex, forms of measurement and assessment (in our “Best Practices” section we explore precisely what this group does differently).

Measuring Learning Success Survey Analysis and Benchmarks – An in-depth exploration of Guild member survey responses, broken down by region, industry, and organization size. Use this information to see if your priorities and needs are in alignment with your peers’.

Best Practices – An examination of what members who report very good results do differently from everybody else.

Testing and Assessment Use and Tools Landscape – Guild members’ adoption of Testing and Assessment tools. Also shows tool market share by organization size, geographic region, and industry. Use this information to see which tools resonate with different industries and company sizes.

Testing and Assessment Tools Side-by-Side Comparisons – This is an in-depth comparison of nine popular systems, with fine-grained analysis of satisfaction, strengths, and weaknesses.

Learning Solutions Magazine Essay: Evaluating e-Learning 2.0: Getting our Heads Around the Complexity – Will Thalheimer addresses the compound challenges of evaluating the effectiveness of Web 2.0 approaches to learning.

There is simply no other research report that offers you a more comprehensive 360° view of measurement and assessment than this Guild Research report. In addition, no other research organization can offer you Direct Data Access so you can drill down beyond summary views of the data to get clear answers to all the questions that are relevant to YOUR organization.

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