So... does satisfaction count as learning evaluation?

Today's question: do the smiley sheets say anything about learning happening or not?

I've been ranting about that one before.
The question is great.
The answer is NOT 'it depends'. It is a firm: nope. Satisfaction has a correlation with buying behaviour and if you will be on another course or if other people should be. That's all useful data when we need to sell our learning services. But you can't assume any correlation with learning - no matter what Kirkpatrick thinks about it.

This study found zero correlation between learning and satisfaction in 84 percent of all learning activities distributed across more than 3 million measurements. In only 13 percent of all learning activities, a significant positive correlation between reaction and learning could be found. It is concluded that subjective measurements, such as satisfaction or reaction measurements, cannot be used to measure the
quality of training nor the level of learning.

Source: 2009 // LARS JULIN & ERIK NEDERGAARD