Page 273 - DEDU504_EDUCATIONAL_MEASUREMENT_AND_EVALUATION_ENGLISH

Unit 23 : Portfolio Assessment

• reflection on the samples of work and processes; Notes
• conferencing about the contents and processes.

Selection of Contents
Once again, identifying the purpose(s) for the portfolio should drive the selection process. As
listed in the tables above, different samples of student work will likely be selected for different
purposes. Additionally, samples are selected might also differ depending on the purpose. For
example, for an evaluation portfolio, the teacher might decide which samples need to be included
to evaluate student progress. On the other hand, including the student in the decision making
process of determining appropriate types of samples for inclusion might be more critical for a
growth portfolio to promote meaningful reflection.
Furthermore, audiences beyond the teacher and student might have input into the portfolio,
from team or department members, principals and district committees to external agencies to
parents and community members. External audiences are most likely to play a role for evaluation
portfolios. However, it is important to remember there are no hard rules about portfolios.
Anything can be included in a portfolio. Anyone can be involved in the processes of selection,
reflection and evaluation of a portfolio. Flexibility applies to portfolios as it does to any authentic
assessment. That is, you should be true to your purpose(s), but you should feel no constraints on
how you meet them with a portfolio assignment.

A showcase portfolio might be designed to include significant input from the student on
which samples best highlight achievement and progress, or the teacher might primarily
make those decisions.

How might the selection take place ?
What describe below are just a few of the many possible avenues for selecting which samples
will be included in a portfolio. But these examples should give you a good sense of some of the
choices and some of the decisions involved.

When
• when a sample of work is completed : at the point a piece of work is ready to be turned in
(or once the work has been returned by the teacher) the student or teacher identifies that
work for inclusion in the portfolio;
• at periodic intervals : instead of selecting samples when they are completed, the samples
can be stored so that selection might occur every two (three, six or nine) weeks or once
(twice or three times) every quarter (trimester or semester);
• at the end of the : unit, quarter, semester, year, etc.
By whom ?

• by the student : students are the most common selectors, particularly for portfolios that ask
them to reflect on the work selected. Which work students select depends on the criteria
used to choose each piece (see below).
• by the teacher : teachers may be the selector, particularly when identifying best pieces of
work to showcase a student’s strengths or accomplishments.
• by the student and teacher : sometimes portfolio selection is a joint process involving
conversation and collaboration.

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