Portfolio Assessment

Damiani, V.B. (2004). Portfolio assessment in the classroom. In Helping Children at Home and School II: Handouts for Families and Educators (S3, 129-131). Retrieved from http://www.nasponline.org/communications/spawareness/portfolioassess.pdf

Using portfolios is an authentic method for assessing student work, from primary grades through college levels. A well-done portfolio contains a collection of student work from a specific topic or theme. Portfolios are valuable in that they show what students can do - not just what they know.

The portfolio process involves several steps:
1. Decide on a purpose or theme for the portfolio
2. Consider what samples of student work might best illustrate the goal being assessed.
3. Determine how samples will be selected.
4. Decide whether to assess both the process and the product, or just the product.
5. Develop an appropriate scoring system.
6. Share the scoring system with the students.
7. Engage the student in discussion about the product.

Portfolio assessment has several advantages and challenges.

Advantages -
1. Assesses what students can do - not just what they know.
2. Engages students actively
3. Fosters student-teacher communication
4. Fosters depth of exploration and learning
5. Helps parents understand the educational process
6. Provides goals for student learning
7. Offers an alternative to traditional testing

Challenges -
1. Establishing scoring systems that are reliable over time and with different raters
2. The process is time consuming.
3. Portfolios portray depth of student learning, but not breadth - assessment is over a narrow theme.
4. Keeping the process fair, when some students may have advantages in their homes, such as parental support and access to technology.
5. It is difficult to compare the students' learning to students across the nation.
6. Students may not accurately self-assess their work if they know it is being assessed by the teacher.