{"id":36,"date":"2026-07-02T04:07:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T04:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/observationandassessment\/chapter\/interpretation-and-evaluation\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T23:41:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T23:41:47","slug":"interpretation-and-evaluation","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/observationandassessment\/chapter\/interpretation-and-evaluation\/","title":{"raw":"Interpretation and Evaluation","rendered":"Interpretation and Evaluation"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n

Making Sense<\/h2>\r\nAs humans, we interpret the world around us each minute we are awake. For instance, have you ever sat on a park bench and \"people watched\"? Of course, we have all watched other people interact as we sat by and made interpretations.\r\n\r\nInterpretation<\/strong> means going beyond our own objective descriptions and explaining or giving them some meaning (Bentzen, 2009). For instance, if you were sitting on a park bench and saw an elderly woman fall and the person next to them helped pick them up, you might interpret that observation to yourself: \"That person is very kind and caring. Not everyone would have wanted to get involved and help that woman.\" This is an example of interpreting an observation.\r\n\r\nAnother way of thinking about interpretation is to add an explanation. If you think about interpretation\/explanation together, you can expand the definition to a way to attempt to provide additional information that might make your objective descriptions more meaningful (Bentzen, 2009).\r\n\r\nIf we go back to the example where the elderly woman fell, and your interpretation was the person who helped her up was \"kind and caring,\" do you really know if this person was kind or caring? Not really.\r\n\r\nYou observed the person who helped in one situation. You cannot create an accurate interpretation after only one observation. To accurately interpret a person's ability or inability, one must observe multiple times in various situations before making any interpretation or explanation.\r\n\r\nObserving young children more than once is required before you, as the observer can interpret or try to explain the child's behavior. If you interpret too early before you have made multiple observations, you could very well be mistaken. This mistake could lead to a faulty evaluation.\r\n\r\nEvaluation<\/strong> is a very dangerous part of the observation process. This is where the observer applies their values and attitudes to the child's behaviors, characteristics, and personality (Bentzen, 2009). The evaluation process is a time when labels can be thrown out when discussing the child's behavior.\r\n\r\nLabels can be damaging to the child and family. For instance, if you observe a four-year-old child during the first week of school and label the child \"unwilling to participate,\" you could be judging the child without all the facts. Separation anxiety is very common in the first weeks of school for a young child, especially if this is the first time they are in a group care situation. A label of \"unwilling to participate\" was made too hastily, and the child was not given enough time to adjust to the new situation.\r\n\r\nAs you observe young children, you will be required to interpret and evaluate the child's behaviors. The interpretations\/evaluations must be made after multiple observations have been recorded on the child. Then and only then, the observer must separate the objective description of the behavior from the interpretation\/evaluation (I\/E). There are multiple ways of formatting your observations to keep objective descriptions separate from interpretation\/evaluation. One of the easiest ways is to include the interpretation\/evaluation right after the observations.\r\n\r\nThe following chart gives an example of how to keep observations and I\/E separate:\r\n
\r\n

Examples<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Name:<\/td>\r\nTeacher:<\/td>\r\nDate:<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Age<\/td>\r\nDomain:<\/td>\r\nTime<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Setting:<\/td>\r\nSituation:<\/td>\r\nParticipants:<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nObservation:\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nInterpretation\/Evaluation:\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nThe following chart gives an example of how to keep observations and I\/E separate:\r\n
\r\n

Examples<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Name:<\/td>\r\nTeacher:<\/td>\r\nDate:<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Age<\/td>\r\nDomain:<\/td>\r\nTime<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Setting:<\/td>\r\nSituation:<\/td>\r\nParticipants:<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Observation<\/th>\r\nInterpretation\/Evaluation<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
 \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n <\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"
\n

Making Sense<\/h2>\n

As humans, we interpret the world around us each minute we are awake. For instance, have you ever sat on a park bench and “people watched”? Of course, we have all watched other people interact as we sat by and made interpretations.<\/p>\n

Interpretation<\/strong> means going beyond our own objective descriptions and explaining or giving them some meaning (Bentzen, 2009). For instance, if you were sitting on a park bench and saw an elderly woman fall and the person next to them helped pick them up, you might interpret that observation to yourself: “That person is very kind and caring. Not everyone would have wanted to get involved and help that woman.” This is an example of interpreting an observation.<\/p>\n

Another way of thinking about interpretation is to add an explanation. If you think about interpretation\/explanation together, you can expand the definition to a way to attempt to provide additional information that might make your objective descriptions more meaningful (Bentzen, 2009).<\/p>\n

If we go back to the example where the elderly woman fell, and your interpretation was the person who helped her up was “kind and caring,” do you really know if this person was kind or caring? Not really.<\/p>\n

You observed the person who helped in one situation. You cannot create an accurate interpretation after only one observation. To accurately interpret a person’s ability or inability, one must observe multiple times in various situations before making any interpretation or explanation.<\/p>\n

Observing young children more than once is required before you, as the observer can interpret or try to explain the child’s behavior. If you interpret too early before you have made multiple observations, you could very well be mistaken. This mistake could lead to a faulty evaluation.<\/p>\n

Evaluation<\/strong> is a very dangerous part of the observation process. This is where the observer applies their values and attitudes to the child’s behaviors, characteristics, and personality (Bentzen, 2009). The evaluation process is a time when labels can be thrown out when discussing the child’s behavior.<\/p>\n

Labels can be damaging to the child and family. For instance, if you observe a four-year-old child during the first week of school and label the child “unwilling to participate,” you could be judging the child without all the facts. Separation anxiety is very common in the first weeks of school for a young child, especially if this is the first time they are in a group care situation. A label of “unwilling to participate” was made too hastily, and the child was not given enough time to adjust to the new situation.<\/p>\n

As you observe young children, you will be required to interpret and evaluate the child’s behaviors. The interpretations\/evaluations must be made after multiple observations have been recorded on the child. Then and only then, the observer must separate the objective description of the behavior from the interpretation\/evaluation (I\/E). There are multiple ways of formatting your observations to keep objective descriptions separate from interpretation\/evaluation. One of the easiest ways is to include the interpretation\/evaluation right after the observations.<\/p>\n

The following chart gives an example of how to keep observations and I\/E separate:<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Examples<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n
Name:<\/td>\nTeacher:<\/td>\nDate:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Age<\/td>\nDomain:<\/td>\nTime<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Setting:<\/td>\nSituation:<\/td>\nParticipants:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Observation:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Interpretation\/Evaluation:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The following chart gives an example of how to keep observations and I\/E separate:<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Examples<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n
Name:<\/td>\nTeacher:<\/td>\nDate:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Age<\/td>\nDomain:<\/td>\nTime<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Setting:<\/td>\nSituation:<\/td>\nParticipants:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
Observation<\/th>\nInterpretation\/Evaluation<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n

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