GUIDELINES FOR
PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT
IN TEACHING ENGLISH
by Judy Kemp (kempj@netvision.net.il)
& Debby Toperoff (debby01@attglobal.net )
These guidelines have been prepared to accompany workshops for teachers on
portfolio assessment and not as a substitute for in-service teacher-training and
support.
English Inspectorate
Ministry of Education
August 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is a Portfolio?
Why Use Portfolio Assessment?
Essential Elements of the Portfolio
Implementing Portfolio Assessment
Assessing the Skills through Portfolio
Assessing performance
Aural/oral skills
Reading skills
Writing skills
Supplement: Process Writing
Frequently Asked Questions
Bibliography
Appendix 1 Portfolio Implemetation Tools
Appendix 2 Samples of Aural/Oral Assessment Tools
Appendix 3 Samples of Reading Assessment Tools
Appendix 4 Samples of Writing Assessment Tools
WHAT IS A PORTFOLIO?
Definition: "A purposeful collection of student work that
exhibits the student’s efforts, progress and achievements in
one or more areas. The collection must include student
participation in selecting contents, the criteria for selection,
the criteria for judging merit and evidence of student selfreflection."
(Paulson, Paulson, Meyer 1991)
In this way a portfolio is a living, growing collection of a student’s work - each
addition is carefully selected by the student for a specific reason which s/he
will explain. The overall purpose of the portfolio is to enable the student to
demonstrate to others learning and progress. The greatest value of portfolios
is that, in building them, students become active participants in the learning
process and its assessment.
Key Characteristics of Portfolio Assessment
1. A portfolio is a form of assessment that students do together with their
teachers.
1. A portfolio is not just a collection of student work, but a selection - the
student must be involved in choosing and justifying the pieces to be
included.
1. A portfolio provides samples of the student’s work which show growth
over time. By reflecting on their own learning (self-assessment),
students begin to identify the strengths and weaknesses in their work.
These weaknesses then become improvement goals.
1. The criteria for selecting and assessing the portfolio contents must be
clear to the teacher and the students at the outset of the process.
1. The entries in an EFL portfolio can demonstrate learning and growth in
all language domains/skills, or can focus on a specific skill such as
appreciation of literature, or writing.
Back to Table of Contents
WHY USE PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT?
Portfolio Assessment:

matches assessment to teaching.
The products that are assessed are mainly products of classwork, and are not
divorced from class activities like test items.

has clear goals.
They are decided on at the beginning of instruction and are clear to teacher and
students alike.

gives a profile of learner abilities.
Depth:
It enables students to show quality work, which is done without pressure and time
constraints, and with the help of resources, reference materials and collaboration with
others.
Breadth:
A wide range of skills can be demonstrated.
Growth:
It shows efforts to improve and develop, and demonstrates progress over time.

is a tool for assessing a variety of skills.
Written as well as oral and graphic products can easily be included.

develops awareness of own learning.
Students have to reflect on their own progress and the quality of their work in relation
to
known goals.

caters to individuals in the heterogeneous class.
Since it is open-ended, students can show work on their own level. Since there is
choice, it
caters to different learning styles and allows expression of different strengths.

develops social skills.
Students are also assessed on work done together, in pairs or groups, on projects
and assignments.

develops independent and active learners.
Students must select and justify portfolio choices; monitor progress and set learning
goals.

can improve motivation for learning and thus achievement.
Empowerment of students to prove achievement has been found to be motivating.

is an efficient tool for demonstrating learning.
Different kinds of products and records of progress fit conveniently into one package;
changes over time are clearly shown.

provides opportunity for student-teacher dialogue.
Enables the teacher to get to know each and every student. Promotes joint goalsetting and
negotiation of grades.
Back to Table of Contents
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF THE PORTFOLIO
It is important to include all of the following:
1. Cover Letter “About the author” and “What my portfolio shows about
my progress as a learner” (written at the end, but put at the beginning).
The cover letter summarizes the evidence of a student’s learning and
progress.
2. Table of Contents with numbered pages.
3. Entries - both core (items students have to include) and optional
(items of student’s choice). The core elements will be required for each
student and will provide a common base from which to make decisions
on assessment. The optional items will allow the folder to represent the
uniqueness of each student.
Students can choose to include “best” pieces of work, but also a piece
of work which gave trouble or one that was less successful, and give
reasons why.
4. Dates on all entries, to facilitate proof of growth over time.
5. Drafts of aural/oral and written products and revised versions;
i.e., first drafts and corrected/revised versions.
6. Reflections can appear at different stages in the learning process (for
formative and/or summative purposes.) and can be written in the
mothertongue at the lower levels or by students who find it difficult to
express themselves in English.
a. For each item - a brief rationale for choosing the item should be
included.
This can relate to students’ performance, to their feelings regarding
their
progress and/or themselves as learners.
Students can choose to reflect upon some or all of the following:






What did I learn from it?
What did I do well?
Why (based on the agreed teacher-student assessment criteria) did I
choose this item?
What do I want to improve in the item?
How do I feel about my performance?
What were the problem areas?
b. For the whole portfolio (the cover letter – see above)
STAGES IN IMPLEMENTING PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT
IDENTIFYING TEACHING GOALS TO ASSESS THROUGH THE
PORTFOLIO
The very first and most important part of organizing portfolio
assessment is to decide on the teaching goals. These goals will guide
the selection and assessment of students’ work for the portfolio. To do
this, ask yourself “What do I want the students to learn?” and choose
several goals to focus on; for example, general goals such as
improvement in fluency of speech or independent reading, and specific
goals such as scanning a text or telling a story. The New Curriculum
(Standards for Pupils of English) contains many examples of goals
(called “benchmarks”) that show progress towards the overall
standards of English to be learned.
This stage is so important because teachers have to know what their
goals are in terms of what the students will be able to do. Moreover,
students have to know what they need to show evidence of in their
portfolios.
It is even better if you do this fixing of goals together with the students,
asking them, for example, what they need and want to achieve in the
different language domains and skills. They will usually show good
understanding of goals (“We need to understand the news.” “We
should be able to correct our written mistakes.”) and hopefully these
will then become common goals for teacher and class. Or you can give
a list of goals (e.g., see section on assessing the different skills) for the
students to rank, and use the results for establishing the criteria for
assessment. (See also Appendix 1.1 for examples of goals for a
Reading Portfolio)
INTRODUCING THE IDEA OF PORTFOLIOS TO YOUR CLASS






You will need to present the idea of a portfolio to your class. You can
start by explaining the wor- from portare (carry) and foglio (sheet of
paper). If possible, ask an artist, or a student of art, architecture or
design to bring in their portfolio; this will help convey the principle of a
portfolio as a selection of a student’s work, showing progress in
different areas or skills.
It is also a good idea to show the students examples of English
portfolios prepared by other classes, and, ideally, even a portfolio of
your own (showing, for example, the development of your work with the
class).
It is worth directing students’ attention at this stage to the main aspect
of portfolios, which is their use as an assessment tool. Try asking your
students how they feel about tests, whether they always feel the test
truly represents what they know and can do with the language (they
invariably bring up plenty of problems with traditional tests). Then tell
them you are going to assess them in a fairer way, which will show the
many different skills, knowledge and ideas they have acquired.
Inform the students how much weight the portfolio will have in their final
grade and what it is going to replace (one or more of their tests,
quizzes and/or projects). Other demands should be reduced
accordingly.
Don’t take on more than you can handle - start with one class, or even
a few students in the class, then expand when you feel ready. (But be
careful - portfolio assessment is addictive!)
Don’t encourage the students to put extra items into the portfolio - it is
quality that counts, not quantity, and the main point of portfolio
assessment is the thoughtful selection of evidence of learning.
SPECIFYING PORTFOLIO CONTENT
Specify what, and how much, has to be included in the portfolio - both
core and options (it is important to include options as these enable selfexpression and independence).
Specify for each entry how it will be assessed. The students should be
acquainted with the scoring guides/rating scales that will be used
before performing the task.
Portfolio entries can take many forms - written, audio and videorecorded items, artifacts (e.g., a T-shirt, an annotated drawing, a
model), dialogue journals, etc.
It is recommended to request a limited number of portfolio entries, for
example 4-7. See Appendix 1.2 and 1.7 for examples.
GIVE CLEAR AND DETAILED GUIDELINES FOR PORTFOLIO
PRESENTATION
Explain the need for:



clear and attractive presentation
dated drafts
attached reflections or comment cards (See Appendix 1.4, 1.5)
Explain how the portfolio will be graded (see Appendix 1.6, 1.7 and
1.8) and when it needs to be ready (final and mid-way dates).
Remember - unfamiliar ways of teaching and assessment are
potentially threatening and confusing to students. It is important to
present the portfolio guidelines clearly, and to go over the guidelines
periodically. Although all the guidelines - goals, content, timetable, etc.
should be presented to the class orally, so that they can discuss the
procedure and ask questions, there should also be written guidelines to
back-up the points discussed and for reference while preparing the
portfolio. It is helpful to prepare these guidelines in question-andanswer form (See Appendix 1.3). These can be written in the student’s
mother tongue if necessary.
NOTIFY OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES
Make sure that the school principal is aware of your new assessment
procedures. It is also a good idea to inform parents about the portfolio
assessment and allow them to comment on the work. (See also
Appendix 1.9).
PREPARATION PERIOD


Support and encouragement are required by both teacher and
students at this stage. The students will get it from the understanding
teacher. Teachers will get it by doing portfolio assessment as
teamwork in their staff or joining or initiating a support group to discuss
questions with colleagues as they arise.
Devote class-time to student-teacher conferences, to practicing
reflection and self-assessment and to portfolio preparation, since these
may be new skills for most students.
Reflection and self-assessment do not come naturally to people who
have had little practice in it, and require learner training. For example,
encourage them to ask themselves: What did I learn from that activity?
Which is my best piece? How can I improve this? This can be done by
class brainstorming (what are some possible reasons for including an
item in your portfolio?) or in pairs - “portfolio partners” - who help each
other select samples of their work (written comments on their work
from a peer can also be included in the portfolio). Teachers should start
with more structured forms of reflection and slowly proceed to more
open reflective comments. This is training in a life-skill, and is well
worth the time and effort spent in class. (See Appendix 1.10 for
“Comment Card Sentence Starters” and Appendix 1.11a,b and 1.12a,b
for other samples of guided and free reflection.)


Give guiding feedback. The finished portfolio may be due only at the
end of the semester, but it is a good idea to set regular dates at which
time several portfolio-ready items (i.e. with drafts and reflections) will
be handed in, so that students know whether they are on the right
track. Alternatively, you can have a portfolio project on a single unit of
material so that both teacher and students will acquire experience in
this kind of assessment over a shorter period of time.
Ownership: To ensure that the portfolio represents the student’s own
work, some items can be done completely in class. You might also
decide to have a test (preferably with corrected version) included as a
core item together with reflection on what the student learned from
doing the test and revising it. Furthermore, you may ask the students to
explain in their reflections who helped them to improve their work (a
peer, a parent, a spell-checker) and what they learned from revising
their work.
ASSESSING THE PORTFOLIOS AND GIVING FEEDBACK
Each portfolio entry needs to be assessed with reference to its specific
goal(s). Since the goals and weighting of the various portfolio
components have been clearly fixed in advance, assessing the
portfolios is not difficult. See Appendices 2,3 and 4 for a variety of
assessment tools, such as rating scales and checklists for the different
skills. Use these as they are, if they suit your goals, or adapt them
according to your needs.
Self and peer-assessment can be used too as a tool for formative
evaluation, with the students having to justify their grade with reference
to the goals and to specific pages in the portfolio. This actually makes
the teacher’s job of assessing the portfolio much simpler, because the
pupil has done the groundwork of proving how far each goal is met in
the portfolio. It takes some of the burden off the teacher and helps
students to internalize criteria for quality work (See Appendix 1.13a, b).
Students can even generate their own report cards based on their
portfolios.
After all the efforts that your students have invested in their portfolios, it
is recommended that the teacher provides feedback on the portfolios
that is more than just a grade. One possibility is to write a letter about
the portfolio, which details strengths and weaknesses and generates a
profile of a student’s ability, which is then added to the portfolio.
Another option is to prepare certificates which comment on the portfolio
strengths and suggest future goals. (See Appendix 1.14)
STUDENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
An important element of the portfolio philosophy of shared and active
assessment is that the teacher should have short individual meetings
with each pupil, in which progress is discussed and goals are set for a
future meeting. Students and teachers should document these
meetings and keep the goals in mind when choosing topics for future
meetings. In this way student-teacher conferences play an important
role in the formative evaluation of a student’s progress. They can also
be used for summative evaluation purposes when the student presents
his final portfolio product and together with the teacher decides on a
final grade. This is a student’s chance to negotiate the portfolio grade
using evidenceof achievement according to the agreed goals. (See
also Appendix 1.15)
Notes from these conferences can be included in the portfolio as they
contain joint decisions about the individual’s strengths and
weaknesses. These conferences can be prepared for in pairs, where
students practise presenting their portfolios.
FOLLOW-UP
After the portfolios are complete, it is a good idea to have an exhibition
of portfolios and/or student-led parent-teacher conferences, in which
students present their portfolios to their parents.
Back to Table of Contents
ASSESSING LANGUAGE SKILLS THROUGH PORTFOLIOS
ASSESSING PERFORMANCE
The following will explain the stages of one activity from beginning to
end and show how assessment of performance can be implemented in
the classroom:
Goal
(Benchmark)
Give and
follow simple
directions
and
instructions
A Sample
Classroom
Activity
Giving and
following
directions with
map
Portfolio
Evidence
Pair-work
cassette,
completed task
(filled-in map)
Assessment
Tools
Self/peer
assessment
with
checklists,
teacher’s
rating scale
The goal of the activity planned for the class is for the students to be
able to use a map in order to follow and give directions.
The prerequisites for the activity are that students are aware of basic
map-reading strategies and have studied expressions for giving
directions such as “Walk straight”, “Turn left/right”, and for asking for
directions, such as “Where is the …?” or “Could you tell me where
…?”. These skills will have been taught or reviewed in class before the
actual oral/aural activity.
For the classroom activity the students will work in pairs and give each
other directions how to reach a certain place. For homework they may
be asked to practice in pairs and record themselves. The audio
recording will be put into their portfolios as evidence together with the
correctly filled-in map (which shows that both members of the pair have
reached their destination).
Besides planning the activity and giving practice opportunities, the
teacher will have to make clear both to herself and the students the
criteria for assessing their performance. Which criteria will show that
the students are able to give and follow directions? What will be
evidence for students and teacher that students have successfully
completed the task?
It is not the product alone that will have to be assessed (Did the
students reach their destination on the map? Did they use the
vocabulary taught?), but also the process (Do students know how to
work in pairs and take turns?). In addition, since this is an oral/aural
activity, the students’ oral performance will be assessed as well (Do
students speak clearly and fluently? Are their questions accurate and
appropriate?).
With these criteria clarified, the teacher will be able to give the students
an objective mark. The following rating scale shows the above
mentioned criteria and their weights:
RATING SCALE
Areas
Fluency
Grade
5
10
Spoke
hesitantly,
15
20
Fairly fluent
25
Spoke
fluently
read out
answers
Vocabulary
5
10
No
expressions
used
Product
5
5
No
evidence of
cooperation
20
Some
expressions
used
10
Did not get
message
across: Did
not find
place on
map
Process
15
15
All
expressions
used
20
Followed
part of
route
10
15
Partially
took turns
25
25
Got
message
across:
Found
place on
map
20
25
Took turns,
listened to
each other
Knowing these criteria in advance will enable the students to complete
the task successfully and even to assess themselves.
The following simple checklist, which checks the same criteria as the
rating scale, will help them to prepare their cassette:
A CHECKLIST
ACTIVITY
NO
YES 1/2
 We practiced before we put it on tape.
 We spoke clearly and did not read out our
answers.
 We used the expressions we learned in
class.
 We found the places on the map.
 We listened to each other and took turns.
not so
good
We give ourselves a mark
of:
1 -2
excellent
3-4
5–
6
7–8
9 - 10
SAMPLES
Here are some more samples of how to implement portfolio work in the
classroom. We hope each teacher and staff will develop further
activities on these lines, adapted to the needs of the school population.
Back to Table of Contents
AURAL/ORAL SKILLS (Speaking and Listening)
Look for assessment opportunities within actual classroom tasks.
Teachers who do not plan for oral assessment tend to overlook it.
Assessment can be both individual and pair/group. Make sure pupils
are really speaking and not memorizing from written notes.
For samples of oral and listening assesment tools see appendix 2.1 - 4
Goal
(Benchmark)
Sample Classroom
Activity
Portfolio
Evidence
Ask and answer
simple questions
 Interview in pairs to
fill in ID card for
partner.
 Survey on chosen
subject
 Cassette of roleplay (also ID card)
 Filled-in form on
survey
Express likes,
dislikes and
feelings
“Show and tell” about
your hobby in
group/class
Video clip/cassette
of presentation,
multimedia
presentation
Give and follow
simple directions
and instructions
Give and follow
directions with map
Pair-work cassette,
Follow stages in
a process
Listen to instructions
for making egg-rolls
Sequences of steps
(number the
pictures)
Describing
events
Tell about a book you
read
Cassette, posters,
Powerpoint
presentation
Presenting
information, using
audio-visual aids
A recorded radio or TV
"show",
Audio/video
cassette prepared
by group (plan of
production and
stages)
Completed task
(filled-in map)
an advertisement
Assessment Tools:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Self/peer assessment with rating scales
Checklist with criteria (such as: clear presentation, relevant
vocabulary, correct spelling/pronunciation), depending on the
task
Teacher/peer observation
Learning log
Answer key
Guided reflection on the task
Back to Table of Contents
READING SKILLS
For samples of reading asessment tools see appendix 3.1 - 4
Goal
Decode (basic
reading skills
for beginning
or weak
readers)
Sample
Classroom
Activity
Read simple
texts
Portfolio
Evidence
Assessment
Tools
Word bank (list
of words
mastered),
selected “texts I
can read”,
completed
reading tasks,
Individual
progress
report, peer
compliment,
self/peerassessment
checklists,
reading on
cassette
rating scales
Understand
simple texts
(narratives,
expository
types)
Read familiar
story
Practice
scaning ads,
TV guide
Identify main
points and
details in a
news report
Cassette of
story read,
reading
strategies
checklist,
completed
reading task,
corrected test
item
Self/peer
assessment
checklists,
rating scales,
answer key
Appreciate
literature
(stories/poems
read in class),
e.g.,
understanding
character and
theme
Semiextensive
reading
activities (i.e.
both guided
and
independent
reading)
reading logs,
reading journal,
book tasks,
cassette, video
clips, artwork
self/ peerassessment
checklists
Reading for
pleasure
(extensive
reading)
Sustained
silent reading
in class as
well as at
home
A log of books/
booklets/reading
cards/news
articles read;
creative tasks +
comment cards
Teacher’s
record of
student’s
reading:
Rating scale
relating to
content,
presentation
and language
Use simple
information
tools/resource
materials
 Work with
glossary,
table of
contents,
dictionary
 Search
engines,
encyclopedias
 Dictionary
exercises:
alphabetizing,
matching
definitions to
words,
synonyms,
antonyms, etc.
 Results of
search, as
part of project (+
comment card)
 Answer key
 Appropriate
information
(found/partially
found/not
found)
Back to Table of Contents
WRITING SKILLS
For samples of writing assessment tools see Appendix 4.1 - 5
Goal
Sample
Classroom
Activity
Portfolio
Evidence
Assessment
Tools
Correct
copying
Transfer
selected
information
from text
Handwriting
sample,
“a text I copied”
Teacher/peer
compliment
Expressing
feelings
and ideas
 Write
caption
describing
favorite
person or
object
 Write
about hobby,
favorite
person etc. +
comment
(why I like
it/her)
 Dialogue
journal entry
 Project –
me/my
family/neighbourhood etc. (first
draft, revised/
edited draft, final
written product)
 Journal
 Rating scale,

Self/peeassessment
with revising/editing
checklists
 Teacher’s log
(minimum/partial/
maximum
investment)
Convey
factual
message
Review
and reflect
Write note/
caption /ad/
newspaper
article
Written product
with first draft,
revised/edited
draft and final
copy
Teacher’s rating
scale,
 Write
guided
comment
card on task
 Explain
why favorite
task was
included
 Write
cover letter
 (Guided)
comment card
on task
 Cover letter
Scale to assess
quality of reflection
(clear/partial/poor
evidence of review
and reflection)
Self/peer
assessment with
revising and editing
checklists
Back to Table of Contents
Supplement: Process writing
Portfolio assessment and process writing are natural partners, since both
show effort and development very clearly. This supplement will introduce
you to some principles and techniques of process writing.
Process writing is an approach to teaching writing which tries to simulate the
process that many writers go through in their native language. In this way it
does not only focus on the final product but also on the stages along the way,
such as gathering ideas, noting them down, reorganizing and rephrasing them
and preparing a final, accurate version. In other words, process writing marks
a shift from exclusive emphasis on the products of writing to emphasis on the
process of writing and on interactive learning between teachers and students
and among students themselves.
The five stages of the writing process can be referred to as:
1. Prewriting
2.
3.
4.
5.
Drafting
Revising
Editing
Publishing
Prewriting
Before students start on their writing task, it is important to define the three
corner stones of any piece of writing: the audience, the purpose and the form.
In real life, every piece of writing is influenced by who it is written for (its
audience) and why it is being written (its purpose). It is helpful to reproduce
this procedure in the classroom. For example, instead of telling the students
"Write a composition about your holiday", the instructions could be "Write a
postcard to a friend about how you are spending your holiday".
Some examples:
Audience
Purpose
Form
a firm
to complain about a
faulty item
purchased
a letter
your mother
to inform about your
absence
a note
the general public
to report an accident
a newspaper article
Prewriting
1. helps to stimulate student interest
2. develops concepts and ideas
3. gives students confidence
Some prewriting activities:
1.
2.
3.
4.
brainstorming
mapping
listing
outlining
Samples of pre-writing tools:
The tree outline can help prepare pupils in writing a description (e.g., My dog
Shushu), where the different branches represent the different paragraphs (e.g., his
physical description, how I look after him, why I love him so much)
Drafting
Writing the first draft enables the student to write freely and without
frustration.
It is important that the student puts the message down as soon as
possible after the prewriting stage without worrying about grammar,
spelling or punctuation.
Some guidelines for students:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Write the draft immediately after the prewriting stage.
Write on every other line.
Don't worry about mistakes at this stage.
Complete the draft in class.
Revising and Editing
Revision gives the student the opportunity to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Improve the content
Improve the organization
Improve the sentence structure
Make vocabulary more exact
Reduce sentences for conciseness or expand for clarification
Editing eliminates or reduces spelling, grammar and punctuation
mistakes.
During this stage teacher's feedback is important and valuable.
A few suggestions:
6. Make concrete suggestions for improvement in an encouraging way.
7. Have students share their writing with a partner or small group.
8. Use a writing improvement checklist, such as the “Story Checklist”
below.
9. Use a mechanics checklist, such as the “Self and Peer Editing
Checklist”.
Samples of Revising/Editing Checklists
Self Assessment Revising Checklist for Story
Name _______________ Title __________________ Date
__________
Directions: Read
the story to yourself. Then check your story for each
item below. Make any changes to make your story better.
1. ___________
The title goes with my story.
2. ___________
I like the beginning.
3. ___________
I used good descriptive words to describe what I meant.
4. ___________
Each sentence makes sense.
5. ___________
The order is logical.
6. ___________
I like the ending.
Self and Peer Editing Checklist
Author _______________________
Peer ___________________
Title _______________________
Date ___________________
Carefully read your piece out loud. Then read each item below. Correct any mistakes you find, and
tick off (v) the space next to the item. Then give the piece to a friend to check.
Author
Check
Peer
Check
Items to Check
______
______
Each sentence starts with a capital letter.
______
______
Names have capital letters
______
______
Right and left margins are OK.
______
______
Each sentence has a verb.
______
______
I checked for words left out.
______
______
I circled words I was not sure how to spell.
______
______
I found the spelling of these words (and explain how):
_________________ , _________________ ,
_________________ , _________________ .
I think I need help in :
_______________________________________________________________________________
Publishing/Sharing
While a diary, which is usually written for the writer's eyes only, does not need
to be shared or published, most types of writing do have an audience. One
way to motivate students to write is to present them with a good reason to
write for a "real" audience.
Some suggestions:
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a class/school magazine
thank you letters
letters to authors of books read
letters to celebrities
e-mail projects with other schools
bulletin boards
booklets for others to enjoy
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT
1. Q: I like the idea of portfolio assessment but isn’t it a lot more work?
A: It is hard work, but your efforts will be well rewarded by your students’
increased motivation and involvement in their learning, and, in many cases,
by improved achievement. The challenge of portfolio assessment lies not so
much in the amount of work as in the organisation of the whole endeavour.
Effective portfolio assessment requires planning in advance and keeping
records. These will quickly become a habit and result in more efficient,
professional work.
This booklet offers suggestions to help you plan and implement portfolio
assessment systematically In addition, teamwork will greatly reduce the
burden on you. Do not over-extend yourself at the beginning: limit the scope
of your first portfolio project to allow enough time for essential features of the
process, such as student-teacher conferences and practice in reflection. Use
portfolio assessment for a semester in one of your classes or require a limited
number of entries before deciding how to go on.
And don’t forget, checking tests is laborious too, while the portfolios will save
you some of that work.
2. Q: I am used to assessing my students totally on my own. With portfolio
assessment, I see that the assessment process also includes students’
evaluation of themselves and each other. How reliable are my students’
evaluations?
A: It is true that students’ self- and peer-assessments may not be very reliable
at first - that is why training in this vital life-skill is so important (see
implementation section). With time and practice, and especially given clear
assessment criteria and individual guidance, students will learn to become
better evaluators of their work. The main benefit of students’ assessments will
be in deepening their understanding of their own learning in order to improve
their achievements. It is important to train students in these skills and also to
assess them, but be careful not to make them into a significant component of
the students’ grades too soon.
3. Q: Is it fair to make everyone take part in portfolio assessment, especially
when I am teaching a heterogeneous class?
A: Portfolios are the ideal assessment tool for the heterogeneous class, for
they are very open-ended tools that help the teacher draw a profile of each
student’s strengths and weaknesses and monitor their progress. The
strongest individuals are challenged to surpass their own achievements, while
those having difficulty are invited to demonstrate what they can do and show
the efforts they make to improve. No two portfolios are alike, since each one
is a direct expression of a particular student.
4. Q: In portfolio assessment students are given credit for effort and
improvement. Won’t that unrealistically inflate the grades of those weak
students who try hard?
A: Indeed, one of the strengths of portfolio assessment is that it enables
students to be rewarded for efforts and progress, which traditional tests
cannot do. However, this does not mean that a student who invests a lot of
effort but performs poorly will get a high grade, since investment will be only
one of the criteria for assessing the various tasks. These tasks will be
assessed mainly on criteria relevant to their performance (for example, by
rating scales). Weaker students will know that they always get credit for
improvement, while remaining aware of the standards they are aiming for in
the long run.
5. Q: How will portfolio assessment affect what I do in the classroom?
A: While tests are very different from activities in class, and thus may affect
students’ performance on language tasks, portfolio assessment helps you
assess what students can actually do under normal conditions. In this way
your teaching can proceed as usual, though many of the activities students do
in class will find their way into the portfolio, after undergoing revision.
However, as we have suggested (see implementation section), you will need
to devote class time to such worthwhile activities as developing students’
awareness of their own learning and improving their revision skills, in the
context of whatever teaching content you have chosen.
6. Q: How do I know if I am doing a good job and that my students are
progressing?
A: You will see progress from a first draft to a revised version, and from
comparing the level of earlier pieces of work to later ones. Moreover, your
students will show you evidence, in their comment cards ,cover letters and the
conferences you conduct with them, of the progress they are making, in a way
that will give you much satisfaction.
7. Q: How will I find time for student-teacher conferences?
A: Try to integrate short talks with individual students into your working
routine. It is impossible if you work only frontally, but is more feasible if you
frequently activate the students individually and in pairs or groups for part of
the lesson. Call on individuals while their peers are working on projects,
reading etc.
Make use of occasions when part of the class is occupied with other activities
(sport, rehearsals etc.) to have “learning conversations” with remaining
students.
8. Q: Must I correct all the items in each portfolio?
A: If you mean correcting all the mistakes, then the answer is a definite NO.
Each assignment has its specific goals, and accuracy (i.e. speaking/writing
without mistakes) may not be one of them, as in book tasks or writing journal
entries. In such cases assessment may focus on whether the task was
completed and on criteria such as the student’s investment or the insight
shown in their response. In cases where accuracy is a goal, there are several
possibilities:
a. Selective checking by the teacher (comments which guide the student
towards improving specific aspects of the piece or correcting one type of
mistake). As well as cutting down on the teacher’s time spent checking, this is
more effective than bombarding the student with comments on many types of
mistakes at the same time.
b. Coded marking (e.g. sp for spelling, gr for grammar) to guide students to
correct their own mistakes.
c. Providing students with tools for assessing their own or their peer’s work,
which enable sharing of the responsibility for checking with the students
themselves (see revising and editing checklists in Appendix 2.2 - 4).
By the time you receive the student’s portfolio, you will have already given
feedback on most of the entries, and will only have to monitor the
improvement made.
9. Q: Now that I feel comfortable with portfolio assessment , should I give up
tests?
A: Traditional tests will probably remain part of the school system even when
the benefits of alternatives in assessment have been firmly established.
Therefore you will probably use portfolio assessment alongside traditional
tests, and you may include tests as portfolio entries (corrected, of course).
The English staff should draw up assessment plans (even better, do it with the
students), which show the weighting of different assessment components
(test, quiz, portfolio, project, extensive reading, homework, participation, etc.)
and which instructional goals each tool assesses (see example in Appendix
1.16).
In determining the part played by portfolio assessment, bear in mind that
portfolio assessment is especially suited to showing achievement in oral skills,
writing, extensive reading and literature.
10. Q: How do I know the portfolio is the student’s own work?
A: See also the section on Ownership, page 6. Your best insurance against
unreasonable “help” or plagiarism is to:
a. require portfolio content to be based on work done in class.
b. clarify that it is easy for the teacher to distinguish between a student’s own
work and an imported piece on an entirely different level.
c. give clear guidelines to the students about the goals and criteria for
excellence in a specific task. For example, downloading material, however
colorful, from the Internet does not in itself demonstrate language skills; it is
what the student can do with the source that counts (e.g. summarize,
compare different points of view, adapt etc.).
Back to Table of Contents
BIBLIOGRAPHY
De Fina, A. 1992. Portfolio Assessment: Getting Started. Scholastic.
Grabe, W. & R. Kaplan. 1996. Theory and Practice of Writing. Addison Wesley,
Longman.
Hedge, T. 1988. Writing. Oxford University Press.
Johnson, K.E. 1996. Portfolio assessment in second language teacher education,
TESOL Journal, Volume 2.
O'Malley, J.M. & L. Valdez Pierce. 1996. Authentic Assessment for English Language
Learners. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Paulson F.L., P.R. Paulson and C.A. Meyer. 1991. What makes a portfolio a
portfolio? Educational Leadership. February.
Puhl, C.A. 1997. Develop, not judge: Continuous assessment in the ESL classroom.
Forum 35:2. pp. 2-9.
Santos, M.G. 1997. Portfolio assessment and the role of learner reflection. Forum
35:2. pp.10-16.
Tierney R.J., M.A. Carter and L.E. Desai. 1991. Portfolio Assessment in the ReadingWriting Classroom. Norwood: Christopher Gordon Publishers.
Toperoff, Debby. 1995. Portfolio Assessment in Literature Teaching. M.A.
Dissertation. Surrey University.
Wolf, K. & Y. Siu-Runyan. 1996. Portfolio purposes and possibilities. Journal of
Adolescent & Adult Literacy 40:1. pp. 30-36.
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Appendices - this section is still under construction. Please note that
the majority of these pages are scanned and may therefore take a
while to load.
Appendix 1 - Portfolio Implementation Tools
1.1 Suggested Goals for Reading Portfolio
1.2 Suggested Content for reading Portfolio
1.3 Sample of Portfolio Guidelines for Students
1.4 A Comment card for My Portfolio
1.5 Samples of Comment Cards
1.6 Sample of Rating Scale for Cover Letter
1.7 Portfolio Project Assessment Page
1.8 Sample Table of Contents
1.9 Involving Parents
1.10 Comment Card Sentence Starter
1.11 Feedback Forms
1.12 Summary & Foreword samples
1.13 Checklists for Self Assessment
1.14 A Certificate
1.15 Student-Teacher Conference Form
1.16 Integrating Portfolios into Overall Semester Assessment
Appendix 2 - Samples of Aural/Oral Assessment Tools
2.1 Holistic rating Scale
2.2 Self-Assessment of Oral language
2.3 Self-Assessment for an Oral Report
2.4 Peer feedback Form
Appendix 3 - Samples of Reading Assessment Tools
3.1 Reading Strategies Assessment Tool
3.2 Book Tasks from TEECH
3.3 ESL Reading Rubric
3.4 Reading Skills Strategies Checklist
3.5 Story Map
Appendix 4 - Samples of Writing Assessment Tools
4.1 Developmental Writing Scale
4.2 Survey of Writing Interest and Awareness
4.3 Self-Assessment of Writing Strategies
4.4 Self Assessment of Writing Dimensions
4.5 Peer Evaluation and Editing Form for Writing
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