Behavioral vs. Judgmental Statements

Behavioral Statements:

Behavioral Statements are descriptions only. They deal in facts and make no judgments or evaluations of those facts.

Example:  She talked twenty percent of the time.

Judgmental Statements:

Judgmental statements are personal evaluations of the facts.

Example: He is doing a good job.

Types of Statements to Use in Evaluation

Effective formative evaluation requires behavioral language with the following characteristics:

1. It must be behavioral, non judgmental.
2. Use of “freeing” responses.
3. It must be easily understood.
4. It must be specific.

Effective summative evaluation requires judgmental language with the following characteristics:

1. It must be judgmental.
2. Often requires the use of some “binding” responses.
3. It must be easily understood
4. It must be specific