DESIGNING AND EVALUATING

PORTFOLIO
ASSESSMENT IN THE
CLASSROOM
 Portfolio development requires learners to
collect and integrate examples of their work
and allows the teacher to assess their learners
as well. This assessment tool provides
opportunities for both the learners and
teachers to better understand the educational
process in a wider perspective.
Steps for Developing Portfolio Assessment
The designing a portfolio assessment
requires some advance and careful planning.
It begins with a clear idea about the purpose
of the assessment.
Identifying Overall Purpose and Focus
Portfolios may be used to assess
understanding but are ideal for assessing
product, skill, and reasoning targets. This is
especially true for multi-dimensional skills such
as writing, reading, and problem solving that are
continually improved and demonstrated through
products. With extensive self-reflection, critical
thinking is an important target. Students also
develop metacognitive and decision-making
skills. As with other performance assessments,
portfolios generally are not very efficient for
assessing knowledge targets.(McMillan,2007).
 It is important to distinguish
between learning targets for
individual work samples and the
content of the portfolio as a whole.
The targets that reflect all content
tends to be broader and more
general, such as “development as
reader,””adapts writing to
audience,” “speaks clearly,” and
“adapts writing style to different
purposes”.
Preparing to Use a portfolio
1. Who will construct the portfolio?
Individual students with the teacher input and
help
Individual students with input and help of
cooperative learning groups
Cooperative base groups (whole group work and
individual members work) with teacher input and
help
2. What type of portfolio do you want to use?
3. What are the purposes and objectives of the Portfolio?
A.
B.
C.
4. What categories of work samples should go
into the portfolio?
5. What criteria will students or groups use to
select their entries?
6. Who will develop the rubrics to asses and
evaluate the portfolios?
Faculty Students
Portfolios may be used to asses understanding but
are ideal for assessing product, skill, and
reasoning targets. This is especially true for
multi-dimensional skills such as writing, reading,
and problem solving that are continually
improved and demonstrated through products.
With extensive self-reflection, critical thinking is
an important target. Students also develop
metacognitive and decision- making skills. As
with other performance assessments, portfolios
generally are notvery efficient for assessing
knowledge targets (McMillan,2007).
 It is important to distinguish between
learning targets for individual work
samples and the content of the portfolio
as a whole. The targets that reflect all
content tends to be broader and more
general, such as “development as a
reader,” “adapts writing to audience,”
“speaks clearly,’ and adapts writing style
to different purposes.”
Identify the Physical Structure
Once the purpose and targets have been clarified,
we need to think of the physical structure of the
portfolio. Practical questions
 What it will look like?

 Where will the students place the outputs?

 What type of container is appropriate?

 Do they need file folders? Clear book? Plastic bins?

 How are the materials to be organized-categorically,

numerically, alphabetically, by subject area or in

other ways?
 Where can students store the portfolios for easy

access?
 If students cannot manage and access their
materials effectively, they will become discouraged.
You may need your original intensions based on the
answer to practical considerations.
Determine the Appropriate Organization and
Sources of Content
The content of portfolio consists of entries
(student products and activity records) which
provide assessment information about the content
and processes identified in the dimensions to be
assessed.
GOAL SAMPLE PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT
CLASSROOM EVIDENCE TOOLS
ACTIVITY
Decode(basic Reading simple Word bank (list of Individual progress
reading skills for texts words report, peer
beginning or weak mastered),selected”t compliment, self/
readers) exts I can peer assessment
read”,completed checklists, rating
reading tasks, scales
reading on cassette
Understand simple Read familiarstory Caste of story read, Self peer assestment
texts(narratives,exp practice scanning reading strategies checklists, rating
ository types) ads,tv guide, checklist, completed scales, answer key
identify main points reading tasks,
and details in a corrected test item
news report test
Appreciate Semi-extensive Reading logs, Self peer assessment
literature reading activities reading journals, checklists
(stories/poems read (i.e both guide and book tasks, cassette,
in class), e.g,. independent video clips artwork
understanding reading)
character and theme
Reading for Sustained silent A log of Teachers record of
 1.2 Identify the Physical Structure
Once the purpose and targets have been clarified,
we need to think of the physical structure of the
portfolio.
 What it will look like?
 Where will the students place the outputs?
 What type of container is appropriate?
 Do they need file folders? Clear book? Plastic bins?
How are the materials to be organized-categorically,
numerically, alphabe tically, by subject area or in
other ways?
 Where can students store the portfolios for easy
access?
If students cannot manage and access their affectively
they will become discouraged.

1.3 Determine the Appropriate Organization and

Sources of Content
Determine the content of portfolio consists of
entries which provides assessment information about
the content and processes identified in the
dimensions to be assessed. These naturally are
artifacts which are derived from the different
learning activities.
 
1.4Determine the Student Reflection
Guidelines
Before implementing your portfolio
assessment plan, establish guideline
to help students reflect along the
way. With this, student will
develop greater ownership of the
process and will have experience in
working collaboratively with you as
their teacher.
 Describe the steps that you used to complete today’s
activity. Which steps really helped you complete the
activity and which ones were less useful? what
would you change next time?
 What personal strengths did you notice in
completing today’s work? What difficulties did you
have and how did you overcome them? What kind of
help did you need that you could not get? Where
might you find that help in the future?
 What aspect of today’s work was meaningful to you?
What effect did the work have in your own
attitudes , perspectives, or interests?
 What weaknesses did you find in your efforts to
complete your work? How might you overcome one
of these weaknesses? What resources would you like
to use that are not available to you?
 What makes your best work more effective than your
other work? What does your best work tell you about
your accomplishments? What could you still
improve in your best work?
 Ask someone to look at your work and describe what
they see. Carefully listen to the feedback and jot
down what is said. Then make a list of the comments
with which you agree and describe why you do not
agree with others.
1.5 Identify and evaluate Scoring
Criteria
After determining the student
reflection guidelines, the next step is to
establish the scoring criteria you will use
in evaluating student performance. By
working on the student criteria, students
will develop greater ownership of the
process and will have experience in
working cooperatively and
collaboratively with you as a teacher.
 However, as the facilitator of learning,
you are responsible to ensure the
reliability and high quality of scoring
criteria. The students should be informed
also on how you will evaluate their
portfolios. This can be done by sharing
the scoring criteria with your students so
that they can ask questions, give their
suggestions and insights.
Content Categories:
Problem Solving numbers and operation
Estimation Predictions
Final Problem Problem Two
 
To be Completed by Student:
1. Data Submitted:
2.What does this problem say about you as a problem
solver?
3.What do you like best about how you solved in this
problem?
4.How will you improve your problem-solving skill on
the next problem?
To be completed by teacher:
Quality of reflection
Rating Description
5 Has excellent insight into his/her problem solving
abilities and some ideas of how to get better.
4 Has good insight into his/ her problem-solving
abilities and some ideas of how to get better.
3 Reflect somewhat on problem-solving strengths
and needs. Has some idea of how to improve as a
problem solver.
2 Seldom reflects on problem-solving strengths and
needs. Has little idea of how to improve as a problem
solver. Has no concept of himself of herself as a
problem solver.
Mathematical Knowledge:
Rating Description
5 Shows deep understanding of problems, math
concepts, and principles. Uses appropriate math
terms and all calculations are correct.
4 Shows good understanding of math problems,
concept, and principles. Uses appropriate math terms
most of time. Few
3 Shows understanding of some of the problems,
math concept, and principles. Uses some terms
incorrectly. Contains some computation errors.
 2 Errors in the use of many problems.
Many terms used incorrectly.
1 Major errors in problems. Shows no
understanding of math problems, concept and
principles.
  Strategic Knowledge:
5 Identifies all the important elements of
the problem. Reflects an appropriate and systematic
strategy for solving the problem; gives clear evidence
of a solution process.
4 Identifies most of the important
elements of the .Reflects an appropriate
Systematic strategy for solving the problem;gives clear
evidence of a solution most of the time.
3 identifies some important elements of the problem.
Gives some evidence of a strategy to solve the
problems but process most of the time
2 Identifies few important elements of the problem.
Gives a little evidence of a strategy to solve the
problems and the process is unknown.
1 Uses irrelevant outside information. Copies parts of
the problem; no attempt at solution.
PORTFOLIO EVALUATION
 Student Evaluation
 One advantage of portfolio assessment is
allowing the students to revisit, reflect,
and evaluate their own work. This allows
them to practice critiquing and
conceptualizing the quality of their work
based on the criteria performance.
 Teacher as a model should be the first
person to demonstrate the skills in
evaluating and critiquing portfolio.
Some questions can be asked to facilitate
student self-reflection for individual work
which gives insights into how students have
been reaching the learning targets:

 Why did you select this piece of writing?

 What did you learn from the selection?
 Can you identify your strengths and
weaknesses?
 What problems have you encountered in
doing the task?
 Which is the most satisfying experience?
 What are your insights after reading the
poem?
 Is this your best work?
 What kind of work would you like to do in
the future?
 Teacher Evaluation
 The teacher can use numerical scores to summarize
judgment or qualitative testing. Scoring needs to be
reliable and should not be affected by inconsistencies
not related to the qualities being judged.
 As a rule of thumb, it is important to remember that
the purpose of portfolio is to assess the student’s
outcomes of the instructional goals. The samples of
entries are the indicators whether students have
achieved the goals of instruction which are evaluated
based on the portfolios entire content, structure, and
the individual entries.
 In most of the classroom situations, the teacher is
both the observer and the rate.
 Student-Teacher Conference
 As mentioned in the steps in developing portfolio
assessment, the final step is to conduct
conference with each student to review the
content, reflections, and evaluations. It should be
scheduled throughout the year which provide
important link between the students and
teachers.
 This also provides an excellence means of
communicating with parents. The work outputs
and reflections of a student can be a sort of
window into what is happening within the
classroom as parents see the different aspects of
their children’s experiences in the school.