Quality Assurance and Training Metrics

When it comes to quality assurance (QA) for training and education, there are three major elements to track:

1. Measuring and tracking the effectiveness of courseware and instructional design

• Including measuring the relevance of actual course content to student needs

2. Measuring the effectiveness and abilities of the instructor



3. Measuring the actual impact of training - how much was really learned by the students

We currently have a complete QA system in place that tracks all three categories. Through Metrics that Matter learning analytics, we also have the ability to benchmark our performance and to provide course results to clients in a real-time, Web-based format.

The Metrics that Matter^®(MTM) learning analytics tool is used by many of the world's largest organizations such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Caterpillar, and Proctor and Gamble. This tool now provides us with a benchmarking database of over 300 million data points. Based on course evaluations from our own students, TEKsystems is typically rated on a five point scale, with 5 being the highest score, meaning the highest level of customer satisfaction. Here are our averages:

As you can see, we've been particularly successful in measuring our course and instructor effectiveness in order to better execute on our fundamental goal of transferring skill. We think our students and clients are the best judge of that success, and we are extremely proud of our current results and trends.

In addition to the high numeric scores, participants are also asked to provide specific, supporting statements when ranking their experience in each category. Typical comments for each category are:

• "I thought the course design was great and covered each topic in a well designed manner." Student - Java Programming



• "Instructor is exceptionally knowledgeable with the content and he is able to tweak the curriculum to meet the needs of the students." Student - Advanced SQL



• "The course was very in depth with Tools, personal experience, and material to assist me in becoming a better Business Analyst/Project Manager/Programmer Analyst." Student - Requirements Gathering & Writing

Through Metrics that Matter, clients are able to see these student comments, and the numerical ratings.

What Metrics that Matter Provides Our Clients

Our MTM Analytics tool is now an integral part of how we measure success.

• Conduct and deliver the results of daily evaluations


All students complete daily feedback forms which help the instructor determine: a) if the course is moving at the correct pace, b) if the technical level is consistent with that of the audience, and c) if participants would benefit from any additional topics. The results of these evaluations can be provided to clients on a real-time basis.

• Conduct pre- and post-Assessments


The pre- and post-assessment phases can be accomplished by leveraging objective skills assessment tests. By "pre-assessing", we can accurately identify where a particular student's entry point should be. Post-assessments will consist of the same objective skill assessments. Post-assessment results are used to actively measure the effectiveness of the training engagement.