Portfolio Use for Learning
and Assessment
Dr Val Klenowski
Portfolio Use for Learning and
Assessment
Aims of the session are to:
 Analyse the formative and summative purposes
of portfolios
 Analyse the assessment processes involved in
formative and summative portfolio assessment
 Consider key issues related to validity and
reliability.
Portfolio Use for Learning and
Assessment

Examine a process for using criteria to
assess portfolios.

Discuss the guidelines for implementation
of portfolios for formative and summative
purposes.
Assessment

Assessment is the purposeful, systematic
and ongoing collection of information as
evidence for use in making judgments
about student learning.
(Education Queensland 2001, Years 1-10 Curriculum
Framework for Education Qld Schools, Department of
Education, p.13)
Assessment Purposes


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Promote, assist and improve students’ learning
Inform teaching and learning
Provide data that can be communicated to a
range of people about the progress and
achievements of individual students or groups of
students.
(Education Queensland 2001, Years 1-10 Curriculum Framework for
Education Qld Schools, Department of Education, p.13)
Formative and Summative
Purposes

Assessment of learning equates to summative
assessment. Process of summing up or
checking what has been learned at the end of a
particular stage of learning.

Assessment for learning equates to formative
assessment. Assessment that helps students
learn.
(Weeden, Winter and Broadfoot, 2002)
Assessment of Learning

Adds procedures or tests to existing work

Involves only marking and feedback of
grades or marks to students
(The Assessment Reform Group. http://www.assessment-reformgroup.org.uk.2002)
Assessment for Learning



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Involves students in self-assessment
Provides feedback that leads to students’
recognition of their next steps and how to take
them
Is underpinned by confidence that every student
can improve
Involves both teacher and students in reviewing
and reflecting on assessment data
(The Assessment Reform Group. http://www.assessment-reformgroup.org.uk.2002)
Assessment for Learning
Is embedded in a view of teaching and
learning of which it is an essential part
 Involves sharing learning goals with
students
 Aims to help students know and recognise
the standards for which they are aiming

(See: Department of Education and Training, Schools of Isolated
and Distance Education, Culture of the Dreaming, 2003)
What is a portfolio?
… a purposeful collection of student work that
tells the story of the student’s efforts, progress or
achievement in (a) given area(s). This collection
must include student participation in selection of
portfolio content; the guidelines for selection; the
criteria for judging merit; and evidence of
student self-reflection.
Arter and Spandel, 1992: 36
What is a portfolio?

“are sources of evidence for judgements of …
achievement in a range of contexts, from classroom
monitoring of student performance to high stakes
summative assessment.

… contain ‘pieces of evidence.’ The more relevant the
evidence, the more useful it is for inferring a student’s
level of achievement in a learning area.”
Forster & Masters (1996:2)
What is a portfolio?
A portfolio is a collection of work that can
include a diverse record of an individual’s
achievements, such as results from authentic
tasks, performance assessments, conventional
tests or work samples.
A portfolio documents achievements over an
extended period of time.
Why use portfolios?
Produces an accurate and holistic portrait
of the student.
 Involves students in decisions about the
choice of inclusions and quality of work
completed.
 Allows students to exhibit difference e.g.
multiple intelligences, cultural diversity

Why use portfolios?

Process oriented portfolios tell a story
about the growth of the learner. They
document the processes of learning and
creating, including earlier drafts,
reflections on the process and barriers to
learning throughout the course/programme.
Why use portfolios?

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Product oriented portfolios require a student to
document and reflect on the quality and range of
accomplishments.
Improve the quality of teaching by integrating
assessment and teaching/learning.
Facilitates the accountability of teachers and
schools. (Queensland Government, Education Queensland, 2003)
Purposes and Processes
1.
2.
What are the key assessment concepts
with which you need to be familiar if you
are to use portfolios for:
formative and
summative assessment purposes?
Summative Portfolios

Focus on learning outcomes and contain
evidence that shows the range and extent
of students’ skills. A summative portfolio
demonstrates learning outcomes rather
than the process of learning. If the
intention is to assess a student’s skills or
knowledge then the assessment is
summative.
Formative Portfolios

The main role of a formative portfolio is to
show the processes of learning in which a
student has engaged. If the assessment
is concerned with the learning process
then assessment should be formative.
(http://wwweddept.wa.edu.au/deo/goldfields/curriculum/assessment)
Formative and Summative

When both summative and formative
assessment are developed in tandem, the
result is more effective assessment and
more effective teaching and learning.
(The State of Queensland, Department of Education, 2002)
Research Evidence


Black and Wiliam’s review of research on
formative assessment in 1998 revealed that
much of it was concerned with issues such as:
peer- and self-assessment, role of feedback in a
pedagogy focused on learning.
This finding refocused ‘formative assessment
studies away from systems, with its emphasis on
the formative-summative interface, and
relocated it on classroom processes’ (Black and Wiliam,
2003:628)
Research Evidence


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Formative assessment raises standards and that current
practices are under-developed. (Black and Wiliam, 1998)
Difficulties uncovered:
Teachers’ tests encourage rote and superficial learning
The questions and methods used are not discussed with
other teachers in the same school and they are not
critically reviewed in relation to what they actually assess
Primary teachers in particular emphasise quantity and
presentation of work to the neglect of quality in relation
to learning
Research Evidence
Negative impact on learning from:
 The emphasis on the giving of marks and grades rather
than useful advice that emphasises the learning function.
 The use of comparison that students perceive to be for
competitive purposes rather than for personal
improvement.
 Negative impact of assessment feedback for students
with low attainments is that they believe that they lack
‘ability’ and are de-motivated thinking that they are not
able to learn.
Research Evidence


The managerial role of assessments such that
teachers’ feedback was used for social and
managerial purposes rather than focusing
learning.
The push to collect marks for record purposes
was given priority over the analysis of students’
work to identify their learning needs. (Black, Harrison,
Lee, Marshall & Wiliam, 2003)
Self-Assessments
Students need to engage with the criteria
prior to self-assessment and for formative
purposes.
 Use of assessment language in own selfassessments.
 Not a grading but a reflection on the
process.

Understanding criteria for formative
and summative purposes

Consider the criteria and standards for
assessment.

Criteria are the “the various characteristics or
dimensions on which the quality of student
performance is judged”
Standards are the ”levels of excellence or quality
applying along a developmental scale for each
criterion”. (Maxwell, 1993:293)

Criteria and Standards


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Examine the assessment criteria for the
summative assessment.
Identify the criteria.
Analyse the criteria.
Discuss with members of your group.
Reach a consensus of understanding.
Be prepared to report back to the larger group
your findings.
Process

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Consider criteria and standards for assessment.
Analysis of the criteria individually.
Discussion with others to integrate
understanding.
Application of understanding.
Discussion, debate, clarification, affirmation and
integration.
Self-assessments

Explicit Criteria
Minimum criteria: grasp of key concepts
and issues, structure, coherence, logical
argument, reflection on professional
practice, wide range of reading; academic
conventions, referencing, presentation
Self-assessments

Implicit Criteria

Analysis, synthesis, evaluation, critical
reflection, exploration of theory-practice
links
Portfolio Assessment Processes
Generally, the individual identifies work from an
accumulated collection to illustrate achievement
and to demonstrate learning for a particular
purpose, such as summative or formative
assessment
Careful critical self-evaluation is an integral
process and involves judging the quality of one’s
performance and the learning strategies
involved.
For examples see:
http://www.ilc.edu.hk
Portfolio Processes
The individual’s understanding of what constitutes quality
in a particular context and the learning processes
involved is facilitated by discussion and reflection with
peers, teachers, lecturers or tutors during interview,
substantive conversation, exhibition or presentation of
learning.
The development of the portfolio involves
documentation of achievements, self-evaluations,
process aretfacts and analyses of learning experiences,
strategies and dispositions.
(Klenowski, 2002)
Processes

The identification of the purpose of the portfolio,
together with the criteria and guidelines, can
assist the student in selecting work for inclusion
in the portfolio.

By involving students in the assessment
process and by making clear to students that
self-evaluation is important for demonstrating
what has been learnt, and also how this has
been achieved, an important message about
what is valued in assessment is being
communicated.
Processes

The developmental nature of learning is
promoted by the integration of assessment
with curriculum, teaching and learning.

The development of the a portfolio of work
involves key processes such as selfevaluation, substantive conversation,
reflective thinking and practice.
Processes

These learning processes and associated
pedagogic practices, when used to
develop a portfolio of work, foster
metacognitve development which
promotes knowing how, when, where and
why one learns.
Using Portfolios for Learning &
Assessment
What are the key issues, major
tensions, and constraints?
Summative Purposes
Administrative considerations
time efficient
 manageable
 inexpensive
 adequate level of reliability
 consistency of approach (guidelines)
 consistency of grading
 consistency of standards

Summative Purposes
Administrative considerations
To ensure consistency of standards need to
provide teachers with:
 Exemplars
 Commentary to explain the grade
assigned
 Grade descriptors
 Grading instructions
(See: Culture of the dreaming e-learning)
Summative Purposes
Using a portfolio for summative purposes
requires specification of:
 standards
 contents
by external agency, local authority,
academic department, teacher to achieve
formal assessment and monitoring.
Ensuring Reliability
Documented, field tested scoring guides
 Specified criteria
 Annotated examples of all score points
 Ample practice and feedback for raters
 Multiple raters with agreement prior to
scoring
 (See http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/mse/materials.html)

Ensuring Reliability
Periodic reliability checks throughout
 Retraining if necessary
 Arrangements for the collection of suitable
reliability data

Forster & Masters (1996:43)
Using Portfolios for Learning
and Assessment
What have been some of the
problems when you have used
portfolios for learning and
assessment purposes?
Problems and Pitfalls

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Most attempts to design, develop and implement
a portfolio for assessment system have
encountered problems that have resulted from:
unhelpful policy decisions
conceptual confusions
practical problems
technical problems
psychological or social barriers.
Problems and Pitfalls
Major problems associated with new assessment forms
such as the portfolio arise from:
 a mismatch of purpose to paradigm


curriculum design
pedagogic practices.
Problems and Pitfalls
 The prevailing understanding of the nature and purpose
of assessment can militate against the success of
portfolio use by distorting the associated teaching and
learning processes.

Teachers need to engage in professional development
that will support the integration of new assessment
systems into the curriculum and their teaching practice,
the policy context needs to be supportive of such change
Problems and Pitfalls

Students need specific teaching and support to develop
the cognitive processes of critical reflection and selfevaluation that help them to develop a portfolio of work.

Technical problems encountered in the assessment of
the portfolio include:
validity of inferences
generalisability
reliability and
resourcing

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Problems and Pitfalls
In the assessment of the portfolio the threats to validity are:
 Construct under-representation
ie omission of important given criteria when
assessing the portfolio of work
Construct irrelevant variance
ie use of irrelevant or idiosyncratic criteria not
intended or included in the assessment
guidelines

Using Portfolios for Learning &
Assessment
What advice should be given
about portfolios in guidelines
for their use?
Implementing Portfolios for
Assessment and Learning


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Decide on the purpose of the portfolio
Determine the outcomes to be achieved and
how the portfolio might be used to demonstrate
them
Create the means by which teachers an
students can collaborate in determining the
contents of portfolios
Allow time for students to reflect and engage in
self-assessment
Portfolio Building Process

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Identify the areas of skills that the student is to develop
From these skill areas, develop specific learning outcomes for the
student to achieve.
Identify performance indicators that establish that the student has
achieved their learning outcomes and indicate the evidence that the
student needs to collect.
Collect evidence that demonstrates the student has met the
performance indicators.
Organise this evidence in a portfolio so assessors can easily
understand how the evidence relates to each performance indicator.
(http://wwweddept.wa.edu.au/deo/goldfields/curriculum/assessment)
Guidelines for Using Portfolios
Include:
 Suggestions for introduction and
implementation of portfolio process
 Framework for portfolio
 Learning outcomes and suggestions of
evidence suitable to address these
outcomes
Guidelines for Using Portfolios
Advice regarding self-evaluation and
reflective statements
 Criteria to be used in the assessment of
the portfolio
 Grade descriptors
 Exemplars that illustrate standards

References
 Arter, J. A, & Spandel, V. (1992) ‘Using Portfolios of Student Work
in Instruction and Assessment’, Educational Measurement: Issues
and Practice, Spring, pp. 36-44.
 Assessment Reform Group. http://www.assessment-reformgroup.org.uk.2002
 Black, P. and Wiliam, D., (2003) ‘In Praise of Educational Research:
Formative Assessment,’ British Educational Research Journal, 29,5,
pp.623-637.
 Black, P, Harrison, C. Lee, C. Marshall, B. & Wiliam, D. (2003)
Assessment for Learning Putting it into practice, Maidenhead: Open
University Press
References
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Department of Education and Training, Western Australia,
Schools of Isolated and Distance Education, Culture of
the Dreaming, 2003
Education Queensland 2001, Years 1-10 Curriculum
Framework for Education Qld Schools, Department of
Education.
Forster, M. & Masters, G. (1996) Portfolios, Victoria:
Australian Council for Educational Research.
References

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Klenowski, V. (2002) Developing Portfolios for Learning and
Assessment: Processes and Principles, London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Maxwell, G. (1993) ‘Criteria and Standards Based Assessment in
Applied Statistical Mathematics’, in J.Izard and M.Stephens (eds)
Reshaping Assessment Practices in the Mathematical Sciences
Under Challenge, Proceedings of the First International Conference
on Assessment in the Mathematical Sciences, Geelong, October,
1992, Victoria: Australian Council for Educational Research.
Weeden,P., Winter, J. and Broadfoot, P. (2002) Assessment (What’s
in it for schools?), London: RoutledgeFalmer.