PORTFOLIO

ASSESSMENT
METHODS
 A portfolio is a purposeful collection of
student work that exhibits the student’s efforts,
progress and achievements in one or more areas.

The collection must include student

participation in selecting contents, the criteria for
selection, the criteria for judging merit and
evidence of student self-reflection. (Paulson,
Paulson, Meyer 1991)
 Portfolio assessment is one of the several
authentic and non-traditional assessment
techniques in education.

The use of portfolio assessment that

became popular in the early to late 1980’s in
response to the growing clamor for more
“reasonable” and authentic means of assessing
students’ growth and development in school.
1. Features and Principles of Portfolio
Assessment
2. Purposes of Portfolio Assessment
3. Essential Elements of the Portfolio
4. Stages in Implementing Portfolio Assessment
5. Types of Portfolio
6. Assessing and Evaluating the Portfolios
7. Student-Teacher Conferences
 Features and Principles of
Portfolio Assessment
a. A portfolio is a form of assessment that
students do together with their teachers.

b. A portfolio represents a selection of what the

students believe are the best included from
among the possible collection of things related
to the concept being studied.
 Features and Principles of
Portfolio Assessment
c. A portfolio provides samples of the student’s
work which show growth over time.

d. The criteria for selecting and assessing the

portfolio contents must be clear to the teacher
and the students at the outset of the process.
 Purposes of Portfolio

1. Portfolio assessment matches assessment to

teaching.

2. Portfolio assessment has clear goals. In

fact, they are decided on at the beginning of
instruction and are clear to teacher and students
alike.
 Purposes of Portfolio

3. Portfolio assessment gives a profile of learners’

abilities in terms of depth, breadth, and growth.

4. Portfolio assessment is a tool for assessing a

variety of skills not normally testable in a single
setting for traditional testing.
 Purposes of Portfolio

5. Portfolio assessment develops awareness of

students’ own learning.

6. Portfolio assessment caters to individuals in a

heterogeneous class.

7.Portfolio assessment develops social skills.

Students interact with other students in the
development of their own portfolios.
 Purposes of Portfolio

8. Portfolio assessment develops independent and

active learners.

9. Portfolio assessment can improve motivation for

learning and this achievement.

10. Portfolio assessment provides opportunity for

student-teacher dialogue.
 Essential Elements of Portfolio
Every portfolio must contain the following
essential elements:

1. Cover letter “About the author” and “What my

portfolio shows about my progress as a learner”
(written at the end, but put at the beginning).
Essential Elements of Portfolio
2. Table of Contents with numbered pages
3. Entries – both core (items students have to
include) and optional (items of student’s
choice).
The core elements be required for each
student and will provide a common base from
which to make decisions on assessment. The
optional items will allow the folder to represent
the uniqueness of each student
Essential Elements of Portfolio

4. Dates on all entries, to facilitate proof of

growth over time.

5. Drafts of aural/oral and written products and

revised versions.
Essential Elements of Portfolio

6. Reflection can appear at different stages in

the learning process (for formative and/or
summative purposes) and at the lower levels
can be written in the mother tongue or by
students who find it difficult to express
themselves in English.
Essential Elements of Portfolio

Students can choose to reflect upon some or all of

the following:
 What did I learn from it?
 What did I do well?
 Why (based on the agreed teacher-student
assessment criteria) did I choose this item?
 What do I want to improve in the item?
 How do I feel about my performance?
 What were the problem areas?
 Stages in Implementing
Portfolio Assessment
Stage 1: Identifying teaching goals to assess
through portfolio
It is very important at this stage to be very
clear about what the teacher hopes to achieve
in teaching. These goals will guide the selection
and assessment of students’ work for the
portfolio
 Stages in Implementing
Portfolio Assessment
Stage 2: Introducing the idea of portfolio
assessment to your class
Portfolio assessment is a new thing for
many students who are used to traditional
testing. For this reason, it is important for the
teacher to introduce the concept to the class.
 Stages in Implementing
Portfolio Assessment
Stage 3: Specification of Portfolio Content
Specify what and how much have to be
included in the portfolio – both core and
options (it is important to include options as
these enable self-expression and
independence). Specify for each entry how it
will be assessed.
 Stages in Implementing
Portfolio Assessment
Stage 4: Giving clear and detailed guidelines for
portfolio presentation
There is a tendency for students to
present as many evidence of learning as they
can when left on their own. The teacher must
therefore set clear guidelines and detailed
information on how the portfolios will be
presented.
 Stages in Implementing
Portfolio Assessment
Stage 5: Informing key school officials, parents
and other stakeholders
Do not attempt to use the portfolio
assessment method without notifying your
department head, dean or principal. This will
serve as a precaution in case students will later
complain about your new assessment
procedure.
 Stages in Implementing
Portfolio Assessment
Stage 6: Development of the Portfolio
 Types of Portfolios
a. Documentation Portfolio
As the name implies, this approach involves a
collection of work over time showing growth and
improvement reflecting students' learning of
identified outcomes. This portfolio is also called
“growth portfolio” in the literature. It can include
everything from brainstorming activities to drafts
to finished products.
 Types of Portfolios
b. Process Portfolio
It demonstrates all facets or phrases of the
learning process. As such, these portfolios
contain an extensive number of reflective
journal, think logs and other related forms of
metacognitive processing.
 Types of Portfolios

c. Showcase Portfolio
It only shows the best of the students’
outputs and products. As such, this type of
portfolio is best used for summative evaluation
of students’ mastery of key curriculum
outcomes.