How can Portfolios be evaluated?

According to Paulson, Paulson and Meyer, (1991, p. 63): "Portfolios offer a way of 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."

In order for thoughtful evaluation to take place, teachers must have multiple scoring strategies to evaluate students' progress. Criteria for a finished portfolio might include several of the following:

• 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).

It is especially important for teachers and students to work together to prioritize those criteria that will be used as a basis for assessing and evaluating student progress, both formatively (i.e., throughout an instructional time period) and summartively (i.e., as part of a culminating project, activity, or related assessment to determine the extent to which identified curricular expectancies, indicators, and standards have been achieved).

As the school year progresses, students and teacher can work together to identify especially significant or important artifacts and processes to be captured in the portfolio. Additionally, they can work collaboratively to determine grades or scores to be assigned. Rubrics, rules, and scoring keys can be designed for a variety of portfolio components. In addition, letter grades might also be assigned, where appropriate. Finally, some for of oral discussion or investigation should be included as part of the summative evaluation process. This component should involve the student, teacher, and if possible, a panel of reviewers in a thoughtful exploration of the portfolio components, students' decision-making and evaluation processes related to artifact selection, and other relevant issues.

Source: Mindful School: Portfolio connection, Burke, Fogerty, IRI/Skylight Publishing (1994) 

Sample Rating Scale for Cover Letter

Grade	Description
1-3	·         Shows limited awareness of portfolio goals ·         Has difficulty understanding the process of revision ·         Demonstrate little evidence of progress overtime ·         Limited explanationof choices made ·         Has difficulty relating to self/peer assessment
4-7	·         Reflects awareness of some portfolio goals ·         Understands the process of revision to a certain extent ·         Demonstrates some evidence of progress over time ·         Explains choices made in a relevant way ·         Relates to sel/peer assessment
8-10	·         Reflects awareness of portfolio goals ·         Understands the process of revision ·         Demonstrate evidence of progress over time ·         Fully explains choices made ·         Reaches high level of reliability in self/peer assessment ·         Draws conclusions about his/her learning

Essential Elements of the Portfolio

Every portfolio must contain the following essential elements:

1. Cover letter
• about the author
• what my portfolio shows about my progress as a learner (written at the end, but put at the beginning)
• the cover letter summarizes the evidence of a student's learning and progress
2. Table of Contents with numbered pages
3. Entries
• both core (items students have to include) and optional (items of student's choice)
• core elements will be required for each students and will provide a common base from which to make decisions on assessment
• optional items will allow the folder to represent the uniqueness of each student (students can choose best pieces of work, but also a piece of work which gave trouble or one that was less successful, and give reasons why?
4. Dates on all entries to facilitate proof of growth over time
5. Drafts of aural/oral and written products and revised version
• e.g. first drafts and corrected and revised versions
6. Reflections
• can appear at different stages in the learning process (for formative and summative purposes)
• a brief rationale for choosing the item should be included
• this can relate to students' performance, to their feelings regarding their progress and/or themselves as learners
• 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?