UNIVERSITY OF BALAMAND

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Education Department

Assessment and Evaluation

Literature Review

Self-Assessment as a Vehicle in Web-Based Portfolios

EDUC 352

Student Name: Lamis Al Hakim

Instructor: Dr. Sara Salloum

Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2021

 Literature Review

Introduction

Assessment is considered a vital part of instruction; accordingly, understanding assessment is

essential for teachers to monitor students' learning, improve their effectiveness, and create a

meaningful learning experience. Furthermore, teachers must find ways to see what students are

learning, such as self-reflection and self-assessment, which students can use to give a more

holistic view of their development. Assessment literate teachers understand how to construct

worthy achievement data and own the ability to probe and criticize data and assessment

methods (Stiggins, 1991, as cited in Looney, Cumming, Van Der Kleij, & Harris, 2018). Even

though self-assessment is considered a valuable aspect of e-portfolio, few empirical studies

have been done on the validity and reliability of self-assessment in such a context (Chang,

Liang, & Chen, 2012). Accordingly, teachers need to gauge the validity and reliability of self-

assessment, in environments such as web-based portfolios.

Formative Self-Assessment as Assessment for Learning

Assessment for learning, formative assessment, which uses assessment during instruction to

improve students' learning, can take myriad forms; it could be informal or integrated into

portfolios. Portfolios highlight students' work, occasionally showing the highest level of

achievement but, "does students' self-assessment within the e-portfolio help in achieving an

authentic educational quality?" Student engagement in self-assessment practices is vital to

promote better learning, provide feedback, and inspect learning. Andrade and Valtcheva (2009)

stated that using self-assessment boosts learning, enhances students' engagement, and promotes

academic self-regulation and propensity to observe their learning. They also stated that students

who monitor their progress tend to learn more and do better achievements. Yang, Tai, and Lim

(2016) claimed that e-portfolios could be used for authentic assessment within a formative

1
purpose, where students can show their learning artifacts, document their reflections, connect

learning across several phases, and accept consistent feedback for improvement of learning.

Yang et al. (2016) inspected how e-portfolios make use of formative assessments to support

the students' ongoing constructive learning. The significance of self-assessment as a formative

assessment type must show students' work progress, and teachers should not convey it to decide

students' particular grades (Andrade & Valtcheva, 2009).

Additionally, Andrade and Valtcheva (2009) shed light on criteria-based self-assessment and

portrayed how it should be executed through many ways to engage students in effective self-

assessment and reviewed some research on its advantages. It was highlighted that students

should be introduced to the assessment criteria to ease their reflective learning (Yang et al.,

2016). In their research, Yang et al. (2016) found that several necessary conditions that promote

fruitful learning within e-portfolios were missing, such as students' familiarities in engagement

in reflective learning, which is considered an essential aspect of the learning process within a

portfolio. Similarly, Andrade and Valtcheva (2009) recommended conditions under which self-

assessment can be successful. For instance, encouraging teachers to outline the standards by

which learners assess their work, teach them how to apply the criteria, provide them with

feedback, provide help in using self-assessment data, provide adequate time for revision, and

not convey self-assessment as a grading tool, but a descriptive one (Andrade & Valtcheva,

2009). By following the conditions mentioned above, they ensured students get the feedback

needed to learn better and achieve the learning target and success criteria (Andrade &

Valtcheva, 2009). It was concluded that e-portfolios assessment benefits students for lifelong

learning as it builds self-independence, self-reflection, and learning how to learn skills vital for

students in the real world and lifelong learning endeavors (Yang et al., 2016).

2
Validity and Reliability of Self-Assessment in Web-Based Portfolio

In their comparative and critical evaluative research paper, Chang, Tseng, and Lou (2012)

investigated the consistency and variances among teacher-assessment, student self-assessment,

and peer-assessment in a web-based portfolio context to better understand students' learning

achievements. On the other hand, Chang, Liang, et al. (2012) investigated the reliability and

validity of students' self-assessment in a web-based portfolio context. Additionally, they

examined the consistency amongst self-assessment and teacher-assessment and to which extent

the results are accurate with end-of-course scoring. However, "do students possess enough

skills to perform self-assessment within a web-based portfolio?" and is self-assessment reliable

and valid within a web-based portfolio?"

In their study, Chang, Tseng, et al. (2012) found that the outcomes of self-assessment and

teacher-assessment were reliable. However, inconsistency occurred among self-and peer-

assessment and peer and teacher-assessment. They further inspected the outcomes based on

each rubric criterion and found that the most significant variances were shown in Reflection

with the slightest variances in Artifact criterion. Chang, Liang, et al. (2012) stated that self-

assessment within a web-based portfolio environment is an important aspect that can be

improved to reach more outstanding academic achievements. However, Chang, Tseng, et al.

(2012) claimed that web-based portfolio assessment encompasses many limitations: time

management, reliability, validity, assessment rubric, technology, and student's assessment

ability. Andrade and Valtcheva (2009) stated that criteria-referenced self-assessment could

have a powerful impact on learning, as in the long term and short-term effects on students'

performance. They concluded that self-assessment had been associated with clear

improvements in students' work. According to Chang, Liang, et al. (2012), the validity of self-

assessment can be measured using an external criterion based on the teacher's assessment; they

affirmed that it is vital to have many teachers' rating students work within web-based portfolios.

3
Chang, Tseng, et al. (2012) suggested that teachers scoring should be the most significant

proportion in students' grades. They affirmed even that teacher assessment plays an essential

role, the authenticity of portfolio assessment is verified to be enriched when using self-

assessment and peer-assessment thoroughly (Chang, Tseng, et al., 2012). For example, in their

study Chang, Tseng, et al. (2012) showed that self-assessment and teacher-assessment were

consistent; however, inconsistency occurred among self and peer-assessment, also among peer-

and teacher-assessment. Chang, Liang, et al. (2012) suggested that the assessment's period

should be longer than three months to enrich its authenticity. Several learners raised worries

about spending more time partaking in self-and peer-scoring; thus, in self and peer-assessment,

teachers should carefully deal with scoring practices and scoring load on learners to prevent

aspects that could negatively affect assessment outcomes (Chang, Tseng, et al., 2012). Chang,

Tseng, et al. (2012) made noble efforts in taking care of the factors that influence the validity

of self-assessment within the web-based portfolio; however, it was highlighted that students'

psychological aspect was ignored and affected somehow the study results.

Interestingly, Chang, Tseng, et al. (2012) believed that portfolios should be wisely presented

to students within a stable structure to ensure their reliability and validity. Chang, Liang, et al.

(2012) outlined portfolio assessment as the inspection of student work that documents their

efforts, improvement, and attainments as an effective and reliable approach. Thus, self-

assessment in the web-based portfolio should be conveyed as a tool to empower students and

guide their learning to adopt the criteria for judging success (Chang, Tseng, et al., 2012). In

conclusion, self-assessment within a web-based portfolio was measured as a valid and reliable

process (Chang, Liang, et al., 2012).

4
Commentary and Concluding Paragraph

Web-based portfolios encourage students to evaluate, monitor, and revise their work, thus

strengthens their self-assessment skills. Teachers, especially in the Lebanese context, should

offer students opportunities to gain better self-assessment skills. Students' performance in high-

stakes tests shows that teaching in Lebanese schools focuses on memorization and not

preparing students to think critically, self-evaluate their work, and self-reflect; such factors are

essential for students' success within such testing. As a matter of fact, self-assessment is a vital

reflection skill, and students should be supported to be better assessors (Andrade & Valtcheva,

2009). Barrett (2007) asserts that there is an excessive difference among the use of e-portfolios

in high-stakes assessment of learning and the utilization of e-portfolios in formative assessment

as an assessment for learning. Actually, technologies such as e-portfolios are shyly used in the

Lebanese curriculum context.

Reflection within e-portfolios helps learners' reason about what they have learned while finding

misunderstood areas to help them construct novel goals. Thus, e-portfolios could be a proper

reflective self-assessment method if conducted and executed correctly in a course plan (Yang

et al., 2016). Moreover, it is essential to use self-assessment as a formative way of assessment,

where students are involved in checking their progress, revising, and reflecting (Andrade &

Valtcheva, 2009). Significantly, integrating e-portfolio enhances students' technological skills

as they gain experience, essential thinking skills and use technology to construct, shape, revise,

and gauge their work. Providing learners the opportunity to revisit many components is a

substantial benefit of electronic portfolios (Yang et al., 2016). According to Barrett, (2007), if

e-portfolios support the student ongoing learning, then it is used effectively to support

assessment for learning.

It could be argued that both self and peer assessments help learners be more responsible for

their performance and learning improvement. Self-assessment is conceived as a combination

5
of an ongoing self-monitoring process and self-evaluation. Though peer assessment improves

learners' meta-cognitive abilities, it is more beneficial for formative assessment. However, a

criterion should be set for learners to follow, such as rubrics. Chang, Liang, et al. (2012) defined

rubrics as "a set of items or indicators that would be used for assessing students' portfolios"

(p.327).

It seems plausible that self-assessment in a web-based or e-portfolio environment takes more

time and is sometimes referred to as a burden by some students; however if e-portfolios are

implemented correctly using the proper criteria, rubrics, and aspects, it could enrich the

authenticity of self-assessment. In particular, using rubrics and outlined standards by which

learners assess their work is vital. For example, in a photography class, learners could use a

criteria-referenced self-assessment rubric highlighting categories such as (selection of artifacts,

reflections, use of multimedia, creativity, layout, text elements, annotations, writing

mechanics). Importantly, a rubric is an accurate tool to evaluate a student portfolio efficiently,

learners know from the beginning of the course what is expected from them, and teachers can

easily track their performance.

On the whole, it is fundamental for students to create portfolios of their work and undertake

self-assessment in an online environment context. A student who can accurately and effectively

self-assess, then revise accordingly, reaches independence as a learner. Portfolios that support

assessment for learning nurtures the student’s intrinsic motivation, develop their controlled

effort, and supports meaningful learning (Barrett, 2007). As such, learners recognize their

learning, provide themselves with feedback grounded in understood standards, and conclude

the subsequent step to enrich their performance. I believe that student self-assessment within a

web-based portfolio is a dynamic process where students' self-evaluation and self-monitoring

are crucial skills that enhance their motivation, achievement, and support deep learning and

ownership of the learning process within an online learning environment.

6
 Reference

Andrade, H., & Valtcheva, A. (2009). Promoting learning and achievement through self-

assessment. Theory Into Practice, 48(1), 12-9. doi:10.1080/00405840802577544

Barrett, H. (2007). Researching electronic portfolios and learner engagement: the reflective

initiative. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50(6), 436-49. doi:

10.1598/JAAL.50.6.2

Chang, C.C., Liang, C., & Chen, Y.H. (2012). Is learner self-assessment reliable and valid in

a web-based portfolio environment for high school students. Computers & Education,

60(1), 325-334. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2012.05.012

Chang, C.C., Tseng, K.H., & Lou, S.J. (2012). A comparative analysis of the consistency and

difference among teacher-assessment, student self-assessment, and peer-assessment in a

web-based portfolio assessment environment for high school students. Computers &

Education, 58(1), 303-320. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2011.08.005

Looney, A., Cumming, J., Van Der Kleij, F., & Harris, K. (2018). Reconceptualising the role

of teachers as assessors: teacher assessment identity. Assessment in Education: Principles,

Policy & Practice, 25(5), 442-467. doi:10.1080/0969594X.2016.1268090

Stiggins, R. (1991). Assessment literacy. Phi Delta Kappan, 72, 534–539.

Yang, M.,Tai, M., & Lim, C.P. (2016). The role of e-portfolios in supporting productive

learning. British Journal of Educational Technology,47(6), 1276–1286.

doi:10.1111/bjet.12316