Portfolio Assessment

I have a portfolio. It is a collection of my best works over time. It includes the first athletic poster I designed and produced, from concept to finished product. It includes the state-approved (Illinois) mathematics curriculum I wrote for a vocational high school. It includes articles I have written for various educational journals. It isn't large, it isn't all encompassing, but it shows my growth as an education writer over the last decade. Classroom portfolios should serve the same purpose.

The ever-increasing challenge of effectively gauging student learning has been addressed in many forms. From advocating changes in curriculums to mass reform of standard basic skills tests, educators are bombarded with suggestions, mandates, and workshops on how to increase student performance. In the search for the best assessment tool, portfolios continually rise to the top as one of the most balanced views of a student's performance.

Despite popular educational opinion, a portfolio is not a random collection of student work or observations. It also is not the collection of every assignment a student completes. A portfolio is a systematic collection of student and teacher observations, which relate to the overall instructional goals of the curriculum.

In general, the lure of portfolio assessment lies in its ability to effectively evaluate reading and writing, and its proven value as a measure of literacy. Only within the last three to five years has the value of portfolio assessment moved to the mathematics curriculum. Portfolios give an educator the advantage of looking at a student's achievement over time and evaluating that student's performance against his or her own abilities.

What is included in a portfolio?

One of the biggest advantages of a portfolio is that it contains numerous student projects collected over time. It can consist of instructor notes, assignments, student observations, group and individual work, instructor-completed checklists, videotapes of student presentations, written summaries, and so on. At the University of Minnesota (Morris), mathematics majors are encouraged to maintain a portfolio with the following components: essays in mathematical techniques, applications of mathematics, and use of abstract ideas; course summaries for each course taken; standardized test scores; teaching licensure; course projects and their results. One good example of the practical application of portfolios can be seen at:

http://www.ncrel.org/mands/docs/6-2.htm

This is an essay from a third-grade teacher on how she develops information for inclusion in a portfolio.

What benefit is there in maintaining a portfolio?

The largest perceived benefit of portfolio assessment is that students will develop skills in critical thinking, self-reflection, content area, and responsibility. For an educator, portfolios can be an asset in assessing student performance. The contents of a portfolio should give a broad, in-depth look at what students can do; be a supplement to standardized tests and report cards; and help parents understand the student's progress in class.

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