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Educational Measurement and Evaluation

Notes • by peers : a student might be assigned a “portfolio partner” or “portfolio buddy” who
assists the student in selecting appropriate pieces of work often as part of a joint process
involving conversation and collaboration. A peer might also provide some reflection on a
piece of work to be included in the portfolio.
• by parents : parents might also be asked to select a piece or two for inclusion that they
particularly found impressive, surprising, reflective of improvement, etc.
Based on what criteria ?
• best work : selection for showcase portfolios will typically focus on samples of work that
illustrate students’ best performance in designated areas or the culmination of progress
made
• evidence of growth : selection for growth portfolios will focus on identifying samples of
work and work processes (e.g., drafts, notes) that best capture progress shown on designated
tasks, processes or acquisition of knowledge and skills. For example, students might be
asked to choose
— samples of earlier and later work highlighting some skill or content area
— samples of rough drafts and final drafts
— work that traces the development of a particular product or performance
— samples of work reflecting specifically identified strengths and weaknesses
• evidence of achievement : particularly for showcase and evaluation portfolios, selection
might focus on samples of work that illustrate current levels of competence in designated
areas or particular exemplars of quality work
• evidence of standards met : similarly, selection could focus on samples of work that illustrate
how successfully students have met certain standards
• favorite/most important piece : to help develop recognition of the value of the work
completed and to foster pride in that work, selection might focus on samples to which
students or parents or others find a connection or with which they are particularly enamored
• one or more of the above : a portfolio can include samples of work for multiple reasons
and, thus, more than one of the above criteria (or others) could be used for selecting samples
to be included
Reflection on Samples of Work
Many educators who work with portfolios consider the reflection component the most critical
element of a good portfolio. Simply selecting samples of work as described above can produce
meaningful stories about students, and others can benefit from “reading” these stories. But the
students themselves are missing significant benefits of the portfolio process if they are not asked
to reflect upon the quality and growth of their work. As Paulson, Paulson and Meyer (1991)
stated, “The portfolio is something that is done by the student, not to the student.” Most importantly,
it is something done for the student. The student needs to be directly involved in each phase of
the portfolio development to learn the most from it, and the reflection phase holds the most
promise for promoting student growth.
In the reflection phase students are typically asked to
• comment on why specific samples were selected or
• comment on what they liked and did not like in the samples or
• comment on or identify the processes involved in developing specific products or
performances or

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