Topic 7: Portfolio

Assessment

What is a Portfolio?
A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that

exhibits the student's efforts, progress, and achievements

in one or more areas of the curriculum.
A portfolio is a formative assessment that measures the
progress of a student, as well as his strengths and
challenges.
A good portfolio will be a broad spectrum of a student's
work, and will serve as not only a place to store
completed work, but will also include self-reflections and
recommendations for improvement.
According to Sweet (1993) "A portfolio is 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,
2 evolving through various stages of conception, drafting,

What is a Portfolio?
Portfolio can be used for many purposes,

communication (with parents),

development/progress evaluation and program
assessment.
The collection must include the following:
Student participation in selecting contents.
Criteria for selection.
Criteria for judging merits.
Evidence of a student's self-reflection.
It should represent a collection of students' best
work or best efforts, student-selected samples of
work experiences related to outcomes being
assessed, and documents according growth and
development toward mastering identified outcomes
3
(Paulson, F.L. Paulson, P.R. and Meyer, CA. ,1991)

Portfolio assessment is an assessment form that

What
is portfolio
children
do together
with their teachers, and is an
alternative
to the classic classroom test.
assessment?
The portfolio contains samples of the
children/student work and shows growth over time.
Important keyword
Reflection: By reflection on their own workstudent

begin to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their

own work (self-assessment). The weaknesses then
become improvement goals. In portfolio assessment it
is the quality that counts, not the quantity.
Learning objectives - Each portfolio entry needs to
be assessed with reference to its specific learning
objectives or goals. Different schools may create
different forms of portfolios

Portfolio assessment

Portfolio assessment is important because it measures

the progress of a student and examines the

instructional process, not just the final product.
Portfolios assessments can provide multiple levels of
learning evidence and demonstrate what a student
knows and how he uses this knowledge.
The contents of portfolios (artifacts /evidence) can
include drawings, photos, video or audio tapes, writing
or other work samples, computer disks, and copies of
standardized or program-specific tests.
Data sources can include parents, staff, and other
community members who know the participants or
program, as well as the self-reflections of participants
themselves.
Therefore a solid portfolio can truly assess a student's
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development.

assessment
The function of a portfolio assessment is to

measure progress of a particular process

over a specified length of time.
Before beginning a portfolio, the student must be
aware of the goals she is trying to accomplish
with this project (if not she will be confused as to
what artifacts to include).
According to Sewell, Marczack and Horn, "If
goals and criteria have been clearly defined, the
'evidence' in the portfolio makes it relatively
easy to demonstrate that the individual or
population has moved from a baseline level of
performance to achievement of particular goals.
6 A portfolio functions as a place to store

Why Use a Portfolio?

Portfolios can enhance the assessment process by:

revealing a range of skills and understandings of students
Supporting instructional goals;
reflect change and growth over a period of time;
encourage student, teacher, and parent reflection;
provide for continuity in education from one year to the

next.
Instructors can use them for a variety of specific purposes,
including:
Encouraging self-directed learning.
Enlarging the view of what is learned.
Fostering learning about learning.
Demonstrating progress toward identified outcomes.
Creating an intersection for instruction and assessment.
Providing a way for students to value themselves as
learners.
7 Offering opportunities for peer-supported growth.

Characteristics of an Effective
Portfolio?
Portfolio assessment is a multi-faceted process

characterized by the following recurrent qualities:

It is continuous and ongoing, providing both

formative (ongoing) and summative (culminating)

opportunities for monitoring students' progress toward
achieving essential outcomes.
It is multidimensional, i.e reflecting a wide variety of
artifacts and processes reflecting various aspects of
students' learning process
It provides for collaborative reflection, including
ways for students to reflect about their own thinking
processes and metacognitive introspection as they
monitor their own comprehension, reflect upon their
approaches to problem-solving and decision-making,
and observe their emerging understanding of subjects
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and skills.

Portfolio?
Although approaches to portfolio development may

differs, but most portfolios have the following

characteristics:
They clearly reflect stated learner outcomes
identified in the core or essential curriculum that
students are expected to study.
They focus upon students' performance-based
learning experiences as well as their acquisition of
key knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
They contain samples of work that stretch over an
entire marking period, rather than single points in time.
They contain works that represent a variety of
different assessment tools.
They contain a variety of work samples and
evaluations of that work by the student, peers, and
9 teachers, possible even parents' reactions.

Types of Portfolios
There are many different types of portfolios.
Each types can serve one or more specific

purposes as part of an overall school or

classroom assessment program.
The following is a list of the types most often
cited in the literature:
Documentation Portfolio
Process Portfolio
Showcase Portfolio

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Types of Portfolios:
Documentation Portfolio
The Documentation Portfolio is,
also know as the "working" portfolio.
Specifically, this approach involves a collection of

work over time showing growth and improvement

reflecting students' learning of identified outcomes.
The documentation portfolio can include everything
from brainstorming activities to drafts to finished
products.
The collection becomes meaningful when specific
items are selected out to focus on particular
educational experiences or goals.
It can include the best and weakest of student
work.
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Types of Portfolios:
Process Portfolio
Process Portfolio
This approach documents all facets or phases of the

learning process.
They are particularly useful in documenting students'
overall learning process.
It can show how students integrate specific knowledge
or skills and progress towards both basic and advanced
mastery.
The process portfolio emphasizes students' reflection
upon their learning process, including the use of
reflective journals, think logs, and related forms of
metacognitive processing.
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Types of Portfolios:
Showcase Portfolio
Showcase Portfolio
It is best used for summative evaluation of students'

mastery of key curriculum outcomes.

It should include students' very best work, determined
through a combination of student and teacher selection.
Only completed work should be included.
This type of portfolio is especially compatible with
audio-visual artifact development, including
photographs, videotapes, and electronic records of
students' completed work.
The showcase portfolio should also include written
analysis and reflections by the student upon the
decision-making process used to determine which
13 works are included.

What Are the Phases of

Portfolio Development?
3 phases in porfolio development:
Phase One: Organization and Planning
Phase Two: Collection
Phase Three:
Reflection

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Phases One of
Portfolio Development
Organization and Planning
This initial phase of portfolio development entails

decision-making on the part of students and

teachers.
By exploring essential questions at the beginning of
the process, students can fully understand the
purpose of the portfolio and its status as a means of
monitoring and evaluating their own progress.
Key questions for the teacher and the student must
include:
How do I select times, materials, etc. to reflect what
I am learning in this class?
How do I organize and present the items, materials,
etc. that I have collected?
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How will portfolios be maintained and stored?

Phase Two of
Portfolio Development
Collection
This process involves the collection of

meaningful artifact and products reflecting

students' educational experiences and goals.
Decisions must be made at this phase about
the context and contents of the portfolio based
upon the intent and purposes identified for it.
The selection and collection of artifact and
products should be based upon a variety of
factors that can include:
Particular subject matter;
A learning process; or
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Special projects, themes, and/or unites.

Phase three of
Portfolio Development
Reflection
Wherever possible, there should be evidence of

students' metacognitive reflections upon the learning

process and their monitoring of their evolving
comprehension of key knowledge and skills.
These reflections can take the form of learning logs,
reflective journals, and other forms of reflections upon
their experiences, the thinking processes they have
used, and the habits of mind they employed at given
points in time and across time periods.
In addition, teacher and/or parent reflections upon the
products, processes, and thinking articulated in the
portfolio should also be included wherever
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appropriate.

How Can Portfolios Be Evaluated?

"Portfolios offer a way of

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assessing student learning that is

different than traditional
methods. Portfolio assessment
provides the teacher and
students an opportunity to
observe students in a broader
context: taking risks, developing
creative solutions, and learning
to make judgments about their
own performances.
(Paulson, Paulson and Meyer;1991,
p. 63)

How Can Portfolios Be

Teachers
normally have multiple scoring strategies
Evaluated?

to evaluate:
Thoughtfulness (including evidence of students'
monitoring of their own comprehension,
metacognitive reflection, and productive habits of
mind).
Growth and development in relationship to key
curriculum expectancies and indicators.
Understanding and application of key processes.
Completeness, correctness, and appropriateness of
products and processes presented in the portfolio.
Diversity of entries (e.g., use of multiple formats to
demonstrate achievement of designated
performance standards).
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Difference Between Portfolio

Assessment & a Standard
Classroom Test?
Progress
Reflection
Ownership
Grading

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Difference Between Portfolio

Assessment & a Standard
Classroom Test?
Progress -Exams and portfolios measure different

levels of student progress over specific periods of time.

Classroom Test - the student's performance is

determined by one class period on one day. Success on

an exam depends on how much a student studies and
comprehends the material,
Portfolio measures a much wider time period, as students
often include multiple drafts of essays or their body of
work composed over the course of a semester. Success
of a portfolios focus on the overall learning progress a
student makes and the effort they put into the project.

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Difference Between Portfolio

Assessment & a Standard Classroom
Test?
Reflection
In a traditional exam, the student's ability to

answer the questions correctly is the only factor

that can pass him/her.
In portfolios - allow for direct input from students.
Portfolios often require a self-evaluation
component, such as a reflective essay, that lets
students describe their overall experience in the
class and the portfolio creation process. It lets
students practice critical thinking, letting them
decide how well the portfolio measures up to
course goals and standards.
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Difference Between Portfolio

Assessment & a Standard Classroom
Test?
Degree of Student Ownership
Test - Because every student takes the same test

and is judged according to correct and incorrect

answers, traditional exams let them play a very
small role in their evaluation.
In portfolio evaluation - both students and
teachers involved in the process. Portfolios let
students take ownership of their evaluation by
showcasing their struggles and accomplishments
and enabling communication with the teacher in a
way traditional exams don't allow for.
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Difference Between Portfolio

Assessment & a Standard Classroom
Test?
Grading
Teachers ultimately use two different grading

methods to score tests and portfolios.

Traditional exams are more convenient to grade

overall, as they involve marking incorrect answers

and calculating a numerical grade.
Portfolios require teachers to establish their own
specific grading criteria.
Even after they determine this grading scale, it still may be

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hard to maintain objectivity, since the students' reflections

and perspectives are part of the evaluation.
Grading portfolios is also much more time consuming;
teachers must not only read the students' work, but write
comments explaining and justifying their evaluation.

Assessment
Allows the evaluators to see the student each unique with its own

characteristics, needs, & strengths.

Serves as a cross-section lens, providing a basis for future analysis
and planning. By viewing the total pattern of the students
development, 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; student 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).

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Disadvantages Of Using Portfolio

May be seen as less reliable or fair than more
Assessment
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
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aggregate to show change.