Portfolio Patterns and Ideas

Table of ContentsIntroduction .................................................................................................................2

Project Portfolio............................................................................................................6An Overview of the Whats and Whys of Portfolio Assessment

Collecting and Selecting for Portfolios ...................................................................... 10The Hows and Whens of Using Portfolios

Reflecting with Portfolios .......................................................................................... 28Evaluating and Conferencing

Connecting with Portfolios ........................................................................................ 41Sharing and Communicating

Selected References ..................................................................................................47

This resource book is designed to help educators answer basic questionsabout the place of portfolios in their instructional program and to providepractical forms that will help them get started.

Congratulations on your purchase of some of the finest teaching materials in the world.Entire contents copyright ©1997 by EVAN-MOOR CORP.

18 Lower Ragsdale Drive, Monterey, CA 93940-5746Permission is hereby granted to the individual purchaser to reproduce

student materials in this book for non-commercial individual orclassroom use only. Permission is not granted for school-wide, or

system-wide, reproduction of materials.Printed in U.S.A. EMC 474

Author: Jill NorrisEditor: Marilyn EvansIllustrator: Don RobisonDesktop Design: Joy Evans

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IntroductionPortfolio assessment is a natural way to integrate instruction and assessment. Students,parents, teachers, and administrators find portfolios helpful in

• assessing how much students are learning over time,• gauging how effective instructional techniques are,• involving students in their own learning,• increasing students’ self-esteem, and• providing information on how to adjust course content to

meet students’ needs.

To use portfolios effectively, educators must be clear about the purpose and audience of theportfolio.

Using This Book• If you are new to portfolio assessment, consider the options presented throughout

the pages of this book and then answer the questions on page 3 for yourself.

• If you have been using portfolios in your classroom, answer the questions onpage 4 or 5 to reconfirm your purpose and audience and to evaluate theeffectiveness of your portfolio program. Then make use of the ideas and strategiesin this book to enhance your portfolio assessment.

Determining the Purpose of Your PortfoliosPortfolios have many different purposes in many different classroom settings. Knowing thepurpose of your portfolio program is essential to its success. The purpose will determine whatgoes into the portfolios and who puts it in.

You might have portfolios that are:

• large scale assessment tools

These portfolios would be developed to supply the public and policymakers with information.

• reflections of learning

A Showcase Portfolio that celebrates best work.

A Descriptive Portfolio that demonstrates what a student can do.

An Evaluative Portfolio that assesses individual student work.

A Progress Portfolio that shows a student’s work in a particular subjectarea over time.

A Literacy Portfolio that traces reading, writing, speaking, and listeningacross the curriculum.

• evaluations of teaching methods and materials

Teaching Unit Portfolios allow teachers to reflect on their own experience.

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Before you begin portfolio assessments in your classroom, answer the followingquestions to help organize your thinking.

• How do I define portfolio?

• What do I want to read and see in each portfolio?

• Will the components of the portfolios be...

subject specific?

student-selected?

student-teacher selected?

• Who will be the audience for the portfolios?

student and teacher?

other students?

parents?

other school staff?

• What will the information in the portfolios be used for?

• What will the parents’ role be?

• What are my major goals and expectations for my students?

• How will the use of the portfolio help to achieve these goals and expectations?

• How will the information in the portfolios change my instructional strategies for learning?

As I Begin…

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After you have used portfolio assessment for a while, answer these questions to helpevaluate their effectiveness in your classroom.

• How am I using portfolios?

• When and how do my students and I add information to the portfolios?

• When and how do we delete, revise, and review artifacts in the portfolios?

• What effect have the portfolios had on my teaching, on student learning, on student evaluation, and on parent communication?

• What would I change about the portfolio system that I have in place?

• What new awareness about student learning have I received from the portfolios?

Now That I’ve Begun…

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When your portfolio assessment program has been in place for a year, answer thesequestions to reaffirm favorable results and focus efforts for positive changes.

• What new information have I learned from my portfolio use?

• What significant learnings have occurred for my students, their families, and my school community?

• Why should I continue to use portfolios?

• Should I continue to address the portfolios to the same audience?

• Have the portfolios been well received?

• What do I want to keep the same about portfolios in my classroom?

• What do I want to change?

• What part of the process went especially well?

• What part of the process would I like to change?

As an Experienced Portfolio User…

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What Is a Portfolio?A portfolio is a systematic, purposeful, and meaningful collection of a student’s workover time. It is not just a work folder or a file of assorted graded assignments. Thecontents of the portfolio

• have clear relevancy to the student’s learning,

• are chosen because they meet well-defined criteria,

• reflect day-to-day learning, and

• demonstrate progress.

Portfolios are part of a process in which students critically analyze their own growth inorder to formulate learning goals and to see connections and interrelationships withintheir own learning.

Portfolios focus on the individual. They are meant to encourage development, not tofoster competition; to focus on success, not failure.

Why Should I Have Portfolios?• Portfolios allow students, parents, teachers, and administrators to understand

progress in ways not possible with other types of assessment.Because the work included in a portfolio is collected over time, it documents astudent’s growth. It can show that significant learning is happening.

• Portfolios provide a way of evaluating not only the products, but also theprocesses of learning.For example, in a writing portfolio, students include not only their polished pieces,but their prewriting as well. Brainstorming notes, lists, webs, charts, first drafts, andresponse group notes all illustrate the writing process.

A portfolio is a “collection of snapshots”showing a student’s learning — anongoing history of growth.

Project PortfolioAn Overview of the Whats and Whys of Portfolio Assessment