Portfolio Assessment
Evan Thomas Ortlieb
The Basics
• Develop a plan
– Determine purpose
Purposes for Using Portfolios
• Provides data on children’s main interests,
dispositions, and attitudes
• Document children’s growth
• Assess children’s learning relative to individual
benchmarks (criterion-referenced)
Purposes for Using Portfolios
• Keep track of the processes children are using
(e.g., running records)
• Highlight accomplishments
• Provide concrete evidence base of progress or
lack thereof
Purposes for Using Portfolios
• Allow children to analyze their own learning
processes
• Keep records that accompany children from
one grade to the next
• Provide the means for evaluating program
effectiveness
Types of Portfolios
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Evaluative
Working
Showcase
Archival
Evaluative Portfolio
• To analyze a child’s progress relative to
program goals, objectives, or standards
– May include:
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Work samples
Anecdotal records
Reading/writing logs
Checklists
Tests data
Parent comments
Working Portfolio
• An evolving repository of student’s thoughts,
ideas, growth, and accomplishments
– Work samples are chosen by both T & S
– Highlights the ongoing process of learning, not
just finished products
» Work samples
» T & S comments
Showcase Portfolio
• Includes only the child’s best work
• Work in progress is not included
• Intended to motivate students to complete
finished products
– In isolation it is not adequate to guide instruction
Archival Portfolio
• To give the child’s next teacher a “snapshot”
of student’s developing abilities (Puckett &
Black, 1989)
• Items are selected because they provide a
summative record
• Intended to guide next year’s teacher with
planning appropriate instruction
Portfolio Components
• Teacher Contributions
• Student Contributions
• Parent Contributions
Teacher Contributions
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Anecdotal Records
Checklists
Rating Scales
Teacher’s Notes
Conference Notes
Tests
Program Goals, Objectives, or Standards
Student Contributions
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Attitudinal Surveys/Interest Inventories
Logs/Journals
Literacy Development Journals
Project Work Documentation
Justification for Choosing Particular Samples
Videos/Audiotapes
Self-reports
Parent Contributions
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Questionnaires and Forms
Work Samples from Home
Teacher-Parent Dialogue Journals
Notes from Informal Conversations
Parent-Teacher Conference Notes
How Can I Store the Portfolios?
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Expandable file folders
X-ray folders
Pizza boxes
Grocery bag stapled inside each other
Large mailing envelopes
Magazine holders
Office supply boxes
Paper briefcases
Tag board folded in half and stapled
Show boxes containing file folders
Plastic crates
Organizing Portfolios
(remember to make them easily accessible to T & S)
2 methods:
• Developmentally (social/emotional; physical; cognitive;
or language)
• Subject area (reading/writing, mathematics, fine arts)
Keys to Organization
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Balancing evidence of process and product
Dating
Annotating
Table of Contents
Color Coding
Conclusion
• Teachers will need to find strategies that meet
their students’ needs and complement their
teaching styles.
– Determine purpose
– Find out what works best through
experimentation with a variety of portfolio
components and organizational systems
References
• Puckett, M. B., & Black, J. K. (1989). Authentic
assessment of the young child. New York:
Merrill.
• Wortham, S. C., Barbour, A. C., & DesjeanPerrotta, B. (1998). Portfolio Assessment: A
handbook for preschool and elementary
educators. Association for Childhood
Education International.