e-Portfolio Basics: Types of e-portfolios

There are three types of portfolios: developmental, assessment and showcase: Developmental Portfolios: demonstrate the advancement and development of student
skills over a period of time. Developmental portfolios are considered works-in-progress and include both self-assessment and reflection/feedback elements. The primary purpose is
to provide communication between students and faculty. Assessment Portfolios: demonstrate student competence and skill for well-defined areas. These may be end-of-course or
program assessments primarily for evaluating student performance. The primary purpose is to evaluate student competency as defined by program standards and outcomes.
Showcase Portfolios: demonstrate exemplary work and student skills. This type of portfolio is created at the end of a program to highlight the quality of student work. Students
typically show this portfolio to potential employers to gain employment at the end of a degree program. Hybrids: Most portfolios are hybrids of the three types of portfolios listed
above. Rarely will you find a portfolio that is strictly used for assessment, development or showcase purposes. Occasionally, you may come across showcase portfolios that do not
show evidence of self-reflection, rubrics for assessment or feedback, however, as Helen Barrett, an expert in the field of e-portfolios, would say "a portfolio without standards,
goals and/or reflection is just a fancy resume, not an electronic portfolio."

Self-reflection is an important component of electronic portfolio development. If you do not require participants to self-reflect on the artifacts they add to the
portfolio, they will not gain from the rich learning experience that e-portfolio development can provide!

PURPOSES OF PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT

1. 1. by pared Pre ed in S. T sh Erw li 2 En g 0 BSE 3
2. 2. First… Portfolio assessment matches assessment to teaching.
3. 3. Second… Portfolio assessment has clear goals.
4. 4. Third… Portfolio assessment gives a profile of learner abilities in terms of depth, breadth and growth.
5. 5. Fourth… Portfolio assessment is a tool for assessing a variety of skills not normally testable in a single setting for traditional testing.
6. 6. Fifth… Portfolio assessment develops awareness of own learning by the students.
7. 7. Sixth… Portfolio assessment caters to individuals in a heterogeneous class.
8. 8. Seventh Portfolio assessment develop social skills.
9. 9. Eighth… Portfolio assessment promotes independent and active learners.
10. 10. Ninth… Portfolio assessment can improve motivation for learning and thus achievement.
11. 11. Tenth… Portfolio assessment provides opportunity for student-teacher dialogue.

PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT IS MOST USEFUL FOR: *Evaluating programs that have flexible or individualized goals or outcomes. For example, within a
program with the general purpose of enhancing children's social skills, some individual children may need to become less aggressive while other shy children may
need to become more assertive. Each child's portfolio asseessment would be geared to his or her individual needs and goals.

*Allowing individuals and programs in the community (those being evaluated) to be involved in their own change and decisions to change.
*Providing information that gives meaningful insight into behavior and related change. Because portfolio assessment emphasizes the process of change or growth, at multiple
points in time, it may be easier to see patterns.
*Providing a tool that can ensure communication and accountability to a range of audiences. Participants, their families, funders, and members of the community at large who
may not have much sophistication in interpreting statistical data can often appreciate more visual or experiential "evidence" of success.
*Allowing for the possibility of assessing some of the more complex and important aspects of many constructs (rather than just the ones that are easiest to measure).
PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT IS NOT AS USEFUL FOR:
*Evaluating programs that have very concrete, uniform goals or purposes. For example, it would be unneccessary to compile a portfolio of individualized "evidence" in a
program whose sole purpose is full immunization of all children in a community by the age of five years. The required immunizations are the same, and the evidence is generally
clear and straightforward.
*Allowing you to rank participants or programs in a quantitative or standardized way (although evaluators or program staff may be able to make subjective judgements of
relative merit).
*Comparing participants or programs to standardized norms. While portfolios can (and often do) include some standardized test scores along with other kinds of "evidence",
this is not the main purpose of the portfolio.
USING PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT WITH THE STATE STRENGTHENING EVALUATION GUIDE

Tier 1 - Program DefinitionUsing portfolios can help you to document the needs and assets of the community of interest. Portfolios can also help you to clarify the identity of
your program and allow you to document the "thinking" behind the development of and throughout the program. Ideally, the process of deciding on criteria for the portfolio will
flow directly from the program objectives that have been established in designing the program. However, in a new or existing program where the original objectives are not as
clearly defined as they need to be, program developers and staff may be able to clarify their own thinking by visualizing what successful outcomes would look like, and what they
would accept as "evidence". Thus, thinking about portfolio criteria may contribute to clearer thinking and better definition of program objectives.
Tier 2 - AccountabilityCritical to any form of assessment is accountability. In the educational arena for example, teachers are accountable to themselves, their students, and the
families, the schools and society. The portfolio is an assessment practice that can inform all of these constituents. The process of selecting "evidence" for inclusion in portfolios
involves ongoing dialogue and feedback between participants and service providers.
Tier 3 - Understanding and RefiningPortfolio assessment of the program or participants provides a means of conducting assessments throughout the life of the program, as the
program addresses the evolving needs and assets of participants and of the community involved. This helps to maintain focus on the outcomes of the program and the steps
necessary to meet them, while ensuring that the implementation is in line with the vision established in Tier 1.
Tier 4 - Progress Toward Outcomes
Items are selected for inclusion in the portfolio because they provide "evidence" of progress toward selected outcomes. Whether the outcomes selected are specific to
individual participants or apply to entire communities, the portfolio documents steps toward achievement. Usually it is most helpful for this selection to take place at regular
intervals, in the context of conferences or discussions among participants and staff.
Tier 5 - Program ImpactOne of the greatest strengths of portfolio assessment in program evaluation may be its power as a tool to communicate program impact to those
outside of the program. While this kind of data may not take the place of statistics about numbers served, costs, or test scores, many policy makers, funders, and community
members find visual or descriptive evidence of successes of individuals or programs to be very persuasive.

ADVANTAGES OF USING PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT

*Allows the evaluators to see the student, group, or community as individual, each unique with its own characteristics, needs, and strengths.
*Serves as a cross-section lens, providing a basis for future analysis and planning. By viewing the total pattern of the community or of individual participants, one can identify
areas of strengths and weaknesses, and barriers to success.
*Serves as a concrete vehicle for communication, providing ongoing communication or exchanges of information among those involved.
*Promotes a shift in ownership; communities and participants can take an active role in examining where they have been and where they want to go.
*Portfolio assessment offers the possibility of addressing shortcomings of traditional assessment. It offers the possibility of assessing the more complex and important aspects of
an area or topic.
*Covers a broad scope of knowledge and information, from many different people who know the program or person in different contexts ( eg., participants, parents, teachers or
staff, peers, or community leaders).

DISADVANTAGES OF USING PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT*May be seen as less reliable or fair than more quantitative evaluations such as test scores.*Can be very time
consuming for teachers or program staff to organize and evaluate the contents, especially if portfolios have to be done in addition to traditional testing and grading.*Having to
develop your own individualized criteria can be difficult or unfamiliar at first.*If goals and criteria are not clear, the portfolio can be just a miscellaneous collection of artifacts
that don't show patterns of growth or achievement.*Like any other form of qualitative data, data from portfolio assessments can be difficult to analyze or aggregate to show
change

HOW TO USE PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT Design and Development Three main factors guide the design and development of a portfolio: 1) purpose, 2)
assessment criteria, and 3) evidence (Barton & Collins, 1997).
1) PurposeThe primary concern in getting started is knowing the purpose that the portfolio will serve. This decision defines the operational guidelines for collecting materials.
For example, is the goal to use the portfolio as data to inform program development? To report progress? To identify special needs? For program accountability? For all of
these?
2) Assessment CriteriaOnce the purpose or goal of the portfolio is clear, decisions are made about what will be considered sucess (criteria or standards), and what strategies are
necessary to meet the goals. Items are then selected to include in the portfolio because they provide evidence of meeting criteria, or making progress toward goals.
3) EvidenceIn collecting data, many things need to be considered. What sources of evidence should be used? How much evidence do we need to make gooddecisions and
determinations? How often should we collect evidence? How congruent should the sources of evidence be? How can we make sense of the evidence that is collected? How
should evidence be used to modify program and evaluation? According to Barton and Collins (1997), evidence can include artifacts (items produced in the normal course of
classroom or program activities), reproductions (documentation of interviews or projects done outside of the classroom or program), attestations (statements and observations
by staff or others about the participant), and productions (items prepared especially for the portfolio, such as participant reflections on their learning or choices) . Each item is
selected because it adds some new information related to attainment of the goals.
Steps of Portfolio Assessment Although many variations of portfolio assessment are in use, most fall into two basic types: process portfolios and product
portfolios (Cole, Ryan, & Kick, 1995). These are not the only kinds of portfolios in use, nor are they pure types clearly distinct from each other. It may be more
helpful to think of these as two steps in the portfolio assessment process, as the participant(s) and staff reflectively select items from their process portfolios for
inclusion in the product portfolio.
Step 1: The first step is to develop a process portfolio, which documents growth over time toward a goal. Documentation includes statements of the end goals, criteria, and
plans for the future. This should include baseline information, or items describing the participant's performance or mastery level at the beginning of the program. Other items
are "works in progress", selected at many interim points to demonstrate steps toward mastery. At this stage, the portfolio is a formative evaluation tool, probably most useful
for the internal information of the participant(s) and staff as they plan for the future.
Step 2: The next step is to develop a product portfolio (also known as a "best pieces portfolio"), which includes examples of the best efforts of a participant, community, or
program. These also include "final evidence", or items which demonstrate attainment of the end goals. Product or "best pieces" portfolios encourage reflection about change or
learning. The program participants, either individually or in groups, are involved in selecting the content, the criteria for selection, and the criteria for judging merits, and
"evidence" that the criteria have been met (Winograd & Jones, 1992). For individuals and communities alike, this provides opportunities for a sense of ownership and strength. It
helps to show-case or communicate the accomplishments of the person or program. At this stage, the portfolio is an example of summative evaluation, and may be particularly
useful as a public relations tool.

Distinguishing Characteristics

Certain characteristics are essential to the development of any type of portfolio used for assessment. According to Barton and Collins (1997), portfolios should
be:

1) Multisourced (allowing for the opportunity to evaluate a variety of specific evidence) Multiple data sources include both people (statements and observations of participants,
teachers or program staff, parents, and community members), and artifacts (anything from test scores to photos, drawings, journals, & audio or videotapes of performances).
2) Authentic (context and evidence are directly linked) The items selected or produced for evidence should be related to program activities, as well as the goals and criteria. If
the portfolio is assessing the effect of a program on participants or communities, then the "evidence" should reflect the activities of the program rather than skills that were
gained elsewhere. For example, if a child's musical performance skills were gained through private piano lessons, not through 4-H activities, an audio tape would be irrelevant in
his 4-H portfolio. If a 4-H activity involved the same child in teaching other children to play, a tape might be relevant.
3) Dynamic (capturing growth and change)An important feature of portfolio assessment is that data or evidence is added at many points in time, not just as "before and after"
measures. Rather than including only the best work, the portfolio should include examples of different stages of mastery. At least some of the items are self-selected. This allows
a much richer understanding of the process of change.
4) Explicit (purpose and goals are clearly defined)
The students or program participants should know in advance what is expected of them, so that they can take responsibility for developing their evidence.
5) Integrated (evidence should establish a correspondence between program activities and life experiences)
Participants should be asked to demonstrate how they can apply their skills or knowledge to real-life situations.
6) Based on ownership (the participant helps determine evidence to include and goals to be met)
The portfolio assessment process should require that the participants engage in some reflection and self-evaluation as they select the evidence to include and set or modify their
goals. They are not simply being evaluated or graded by others.
7) Multipurposed (allowing assessment of the effectiveness of the program while assessing performance of the participant).

A well-designed portfolio assessment process evaluates the effectiveness of your intervention at the same time that it evaluates the growth of individuals or
communities. It also serves as a communication tool when shared with family, other staff, or community members. In school settings, it can be passed on to
other teachers or staff as a child moves from one grade level to another.

Student Portfolios: Classroom Uses

WHAT IS IT? Portfolios are collections of student work representing a selection of performance. Portfolios in classrooms today are derived from the visual and performing arts
tradition in which they serve to showcase artists' accomplishments and personally favored works. A portfolio may be a folder containing a student's best pieces and the
student's evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the pieces. It may also contain one or more works-in-progress that illustrate the creation of a product, such as an essay,
evolving through various stages of conception, drafting, and revision.

More teachers have recently begun using portfolios in all curricular areas. Portfolios are useful as a support to the new instructional approaches that emphasize the student's role in
constructing understanding and the teacher's role in promoting understanding. For example, in writing instruction, portfolios can function to illustrate the range of assignments,
goals, and audiences for which a student produced written material. In addition, portfolios can be a record of the activities undertaken over time in the development of written
products. They can also be used to support cooperative teaming by offering an opportunity for students to share and comment on each other's work. For example, a videotape of
students speaking French in the classroom can be used to evoke a critical evaluation of each other's conversational skills at various points during the school year.

Recent changes in education policy, which emphasize greater teacher involvement in designing curriculum and assessing students, have also been an impetus to increased portfolio
use. Portfolios are valued as an assessment tool because, as representations of classroom-based performance, they can be fully integrated into the curriculum. And unlike separate
tests, they supplement rather than take time away from instruction. Moreover, many teachers, educators, and researchers believe that portfolio assessments are more effective than
"old-style" tests for measuring academic skills and informing instructional decisions.

WHY TRY IT? Students have been stuffing assignments in notebooks and folders for years, so what's so new and exciting about portfolios? Portfolios capitalize on students'
natural tendency to save work and become an effective way to get them to take a second look and think about how they could improve future work. As any teacher or student can
confirm, this method is a clear departure from the old write, hand in, and forget mentality, where first drafts were considered final products.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Although there is no single correct way to develop portfolio programs, in all of them students are expected to collect, select, and reflect. Early in the
school year, students are pressed to consider: What would I like to reread or share with my parents or a friend? What makes a particular piece of writing, an approach to a
mathematics problem, or a write-up of a science project a good product? In building a portfolio of selected pieces and explaining the basis for their choices, students generate
criteria for good work, with teacher and peer input. Students need specifics with clear guidelines and examples to get started on their work, so these discussions need to be well
guided and structured. The earlier the discussions begin, the better.

While portfolios were developed on the model of the visual and performing arts tradition of showcasing accomplishments, portfolios in classrooms today are a highly flexible
instructional and assessment tool, adaptable to diverse curricula, student age/grade levels, and administrative contexts. For example:

The content in portfolios is built from class assignments and as such corresponds to the local classroom curriculum. Often, portfolio programs are initiated by teachers, who know
their classroom curriculum best. They may develop portfolios focused on a single curricular area--such as writing, mathematics, literature, or science--or they may develop
portfolio programs that span two or more subjects, such as writing and reading, writing across the curriculum, or mathematics and science. Still others span several course areas for
particular groups of students, such as those in vocational-technical, English as a second language, or special arts programs.

The age/grade level of students may determine how portfolios are developed and used. For example, in developing criteria for judging good writing, older students are more
likely to be able to help determine the criteria by which work is selected, perhaps through brainstorming sessions with the teacher and other students. Younger students may need
more directed help to decide on what work to include. Older students are generally better at keeping logs to report their progress on readings and other recurrent projects. Also,
older students often expand their portfolios beyond written material to include photographs or videos of peer review sessions, science experiments, performances, or exhibits.

Administrative contexts also influence the structure and use of portfolios. While the primary purpose of portfolios for most teachers is to engage students, support good curricula
and instruction, and improve student teaming, some portfolio programs are designed to serve other purposes as well. For example, portfolios can be used to involve parents in their
children's education programs and to report individual student progress. Teachers and administrators need to educate parents about how portfolios work and what advantages they
offer over traditional tests. Parents are generally more receptive if the traditional tests to which they are accustomed are not being eliminated. Once portfolios are explained and
observed in practice, parents are often enthusiastic supporters.

Portfolios may also be used to compare achievement across classrooms or schools. When they are used for this purpose, fairness requires that standards be developed to specify the
types of work that can be included and the criteria used to evaluate the work. Guidelines may also address issues of teacher or peer involvement in revising draft work or in
deciding on what to identify as a best piece.

In all administrative contexts, teachers need administrative support to initiate a portfolio program. They need support material such as folders, file drawers, and access to a
photocopy machine, and time to plan, share ideas, and develop strategies.

All portfolios--across these diverse curricular settings, student populations, and administrative contexts--involve students in their own education so that they take charge of their
personal collection of work, reflect on what makes some work better, and use this information to make improvements in future work.

WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY? Research shows that students at all levels see assessment as something that is done to them on their classwork by someone else. Beyond
"percent correct," assigned letter grades, and grammatical or arithmetic errors, many students have little knowledge of what is involved in evaluating their classwork. Portfolios can
provide structure for involving students in developing and understanding criteria for good efforts, in coming to see the criteria as their own, and in applying the criteria to their own
and other students' work.

Research also shows that students benefit from an awareness of the processes and strategies involved in writing, solving a problem, researching a topic, analyzing information, or
describing their own observations. Without instruction focused on the processes and strategies that underlie effective performance of these types of work, most students will not
learn them or will learn them only minimally. And without curriculum-specific experience in using these processes and strategies, even fewer students will carry them forward into
new and appropriate contexts. Portfolios can serve as a vehicle for enhancing student awareness of these strategies for thinking about and producing work--both inside and beyond
the classroom.

WHAT ARE THE DRAWBACKS? Good portfolio projects do not happen without considerable effort on the part of teachers, administrators, and policymakers. Research shows
that portfolios place additional demands on teachers and students as well as on school resources. Teachers need not only a thorough understanding of their subject area and
instructional skills, but also additional time for planning, conferring with other teachers, developing strategies and materials, meeting with individual students and small groups,
and reviewing and commenting on student work. In addition, teachers may need extra space in their classrooms to store students' portfolios or expensive equipment such as video
cameras.

However, portfolios have been characterized by some teachers as a worthwhile burden with tangible results in instruction and student motivation. (For more information on the
role of administrators and policymakers in the success of portfolio programs, refer to the next issue of CONSUMER GUIDE, "Student Portfolios: Administrative Uses," to be
published in December 1993.)
What Are the Kinds of Portfolio? Several kinds of portfolio can be organized. They are: o Showcase (to display the students best work to parents and administrators) o Outcome-
based or assessment (to fulfill requirements and goals set by district) o Working, process, or collection (ongoing, developmental)

Showcase portfolios are created by a learner toshowcase their best qualities to an audience, whether marketing services as a professional (such as an artist or
web designer) or applying for a job.
Purpose
Chapter 1. The Types of Portfolios

As more and more educators use portfolios, they increasingly recognize that the process has the power to transform instruction. Some teachers, however, are
confused by the many types of portfolios, their different uses, and the practical issues surrounding storage, ownership, and the like.
The three major types of portfolios are: working portfolios, display portfolios, and assessment portfolios. Although the types are distinct in theory, they tend to
overlap in practice. Consequently, a district's program may include several different types of portfolios, serving several different purposes. As a result, it is
important for educators to be clear about their goals, the reasons they are engaging in a portfolio project, and the intended audience for the portfolios.

Working Portfolios A working portfolio is so named because it is a project “in the works,” containing work in progress as well as finished samples of
work. It serves as a holding tank for work that may be selected later for a more permanent assessment or display portfolio.
A working portfolio is different from a work folder, which is simply a receptacle for all work, with no purpose to the collection. A working portfolio is an intentional
collection of work guided by learning objectives.
Purpose The major purpose of a working portfolio is to serve as a holding tank for student work. The pieces related to a specific topic are collected
here until they move to an assessment portfolio or a display portfolio, or go home with the student. In addition, the working portfolio may be used to
diagnose student needs. Here both student and teacher have evidence of student strengths and weaknesses in achieving learning objectives,
information extremely useful in designing future instruction.
Audience Given its use in diagnosis, the primary audience for a working portfolio is the student, with guidance from the teacher. By working on the
portfolio and reflecting on the quality of work contained there, the student becomes more reflective and self-directed. With very young children,
however, the primary audience is the teacher, with the participation of the student.
Parents may be another important audience of a working portfolio, since it can help inform parent/teacher conferences. The portfolio is particularly useful for those
parents who do not accept the limitations of their child's current skills or do not have a realistic picture of the way their child is progressing compared with other
children. In such situations, evidence from a portfolio can truly “speak a thousand words.” In addition, a portfolio can serve to document the progress a student has
made, progress of which a parent may be unaware.
Process
A working portfolio is typically structured around a specific content area; pieces collected relate to the objectives of that unit and document student progress toward
mastery of those objectives. Therefore, sufficient work must be collected to provide ample evidence of student achievement. Because diagnosis is a major purpose
of the working portfolio, some of the pieces included will show less than complete understanding and will help shape future instruction.
The working portfolio is reviewed as a whole and its pieces evaluated—either periodically or at the end of the learning unit. Some pieces may be shifted to an
assessment portfolio to document student acquisition of instructional objectives. Other pieces may be moved to a student's own display (or best works) portfolio or
celebration of individual learning. Still other pieces are sent home with the student.
As students move pieces from a working portfolio into either an assessment or display portfolio, they describe the reasons for their choices. In this process of
selection and description, students must reflect seriously on their work and what it demonstrates about them as learners. As students and their teachers look
through the portfolio, they set short-term objectives for achieving certain curriculum goals. The portfolio thus provides evidence of strengths and weaknesses and
serves to define the next steps in learning.

Display, Showcase, or Best Works Portfolios Probably the most rewarding use of student portfolios is the display of the students' best work, the work
that makes them proud. Students, as well as their teachers, become most committed to the process when they experience the joy of exhibiting their
best work and interpreting its meaning. Many educators who do not use portfolios for any other purpose engage their students in the creation of
display portfolios. The pride and sense of accomplishment that students feel make the effort well worthwhile and contribute to a culture for learning in
the classroom.
Purpose The purpose of a display portfolio is to demonstrate the highest level of achievement attained by the student. Collecting items for this
portfolio is a student's way of saying “Here's who I am. Here is what I can do.”
A display portfolio may be maintained from year to year, with new pieces added each year, documenting growth over time. And while a best works portfolio may
document student efforts with respect to curriculum objectives, it may also include evidence of student activities beyond school (a story written at home, for
example).
There are many possibilities for the contents of a display portfolio. The benefits of portfolios were first recognized in the area of language arts, specifically in
writing. Therefore, writing portfolios are the most widely known and used. But students may elect to put many types of items in their portfolio of best works—a
drawing they like, a poem they have written, a list of books they have read, or a difficult problem they have solved.
Audience Since the student selects her or his own best works, the audience for a display portfolio is that student and the other important individuals,
such as parents and older siblings, to whom the student chooses to show the portfolio. Other audiences include a current teacher or next year's
teacher, who may learn a lot about the student by studying the portfolio.
In addition, a student may submit portfolios of best works to colleges or potential employers to supplement other information; art students have always used this
approach. The contents of these portfolios are determined by the interests of the audience and may include videos, written work, projects, resumés, and
testimonials. The act of assembling a display portfolio for such a practical purpose can motivate high school students to produce work of high quality.
Process Most pieces for a display portfolio are collected in a working portfolio of school projects. Sometimes, however, a student will include a piece
of work from outside the classroom, such as a project from scouts or a poem written at home. Students select the items to be included in a display
portfolio. Their choices define them as students and as learners. In making their selections, students illustrate what they believe to be important about
their learning, what they value and want to show to others.

Assessment Portfolios The primary function of an assessment portfolio is to document what a student has learned. The content of the curriculum,
then, will determine what students select for their portfolios. Their reflective comments will focus on the extent to which they believe the portfolio
entries demonstrate their mastery of the curriculum objectives. For example, if the curriculum specifies persuasive, narrative, and descriptive writing,
an assessment portfolio should include examples of each type of writing. Similarly, if the curriculum calls for mathematical problem solving and
mathematical communication, then the display portfolio will include entries documenting both problem solving and communication, possibly in the
same entry.
Purpose
The primary purpose of an assessment portfolio is to document student learning on specific curriculum outcomes. As such, the items in the portfolio must be
designed to elicit the knowledge and skill specified in the outcomes. It is the assessment tasks that bring the curriculum outcomes to life; only by specifying
precisely what students must do and how well they must do it do these statements of learning have meaning.
Assessment portfolios may be used to demonstrate mastery in any curricular area. They may span any period of time, from one unit to the entire year. And they
may be dedicated to one subject or many subjects. For example, a teacher may wish to have evidence that a child has sufficient skills in a content area to move to
the next level or grade. The criteria for moving on and the types of necessary evidence must be established. Then the portfolio is compiled and assessed.
Audience There are many possible audiences for an assessment portfolio, depending on its specific purpose. One audience may be the classroom
teacher, who may become convinced that the objectives of an instructional unit have been mastered or who may decide to place a student in advanced
classes or special sections. Alternatively, the audience may be the school district or even the state, seeking documentation of student learning, and
permitting a student to move to the high school or receive a diploma. A secondary, though very important, audience is always the student, who
provides evidence of significant learning.
Process
There are eight basic steps in developing an assessment portfolio system. Since portfolio entries represent a type of performance, these steps resemble the
principles for developing good performance assessments.
1. Determine the curricular objectives to be addressed through the portfolio.
2. Determine the decisions that will be made based on the portfolio assessments. Will the assessments be used for high-stakes assessment at certain levels of
schooling (for example, to enable students to make the transition from middle school to high school)?
3. Design assessment tasks for the curricular objectives. Ensure that the task matches instructional intentions and adequately represents the content and skills
(including the appropriate level of difficulty) students are expected to attain. These considerations will ensure the validity of the assessment tasks.
4. Define the criteria for each assessment task and establish performance standards for each criterion.
5. Determine who will evaluate the portfolio entries. Will they be teachers from the students' own school? Teachers from another school? Or does the state
identify and train evaluators?
6. Train teachers or other evaluators to score the assessments. This will ensure the reliability of the assessments.
7. Teach the curriculum, administer assessments, collect them in portfolios, score assessments.
8. As determined in Step 2, make decisions based on the assessments in the portfolios.
Challenges
Assessment portfolios raise many important practical and technical issues, particularly if they are used for high-stakes decisions. Portfolios can be used to
establish that students have mastered the essential elements of the curriculum, and high school graduation can be contingent on demonstrating this mastery. In
cases like this, it is essential that the procedures used to evaluate student work in the portfolio meet standards of validity and reliability.
How will student products be evaluated if student writing or mathematical problem solving is included in the portfolio? How will practitioners be sure that the
products are good enough, that the work is of high quality? By what criteria will student work be judged? To answer these questions, educators develop scoring
guides, or rubrics, with clear criteria and descriptions of different levels of performance. And to ensure inter-rater agreement, they collect samples of student work
at the different levels (called anchor papers) and conduct training sessions for assessors.
But even in a classroom environment where the stakes are lower, assessment portfolios are more formal affairs than those designed to diagnose learning needs
(working portfolios) or to celebrate learning (best works portfolios). In an assessment portfolio, the content matters and it must demonstrate and document what
students have learned. The origin of an assessment portfolio may be quite external to the student and his world. The mandate may come from outside the
classroom—for instance, via curriculum committees and board action, or directly from the state department of education. Moreover, the eventual owner of the
portfolio's contents may be someone other than the student. In addition, the selection process is more controlled and dictated, since the portfolio entries must
document particular learning outcomes. And there may be no opportunity for the student to “show off” his or her portfolio.