PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENTS

• What is a Portfolio?
• Structure of Portfolio Assessment
• Advantages of Portfolio
• Disadvantages of Portfolio
• More on Portfolio - Download the full pdf

WHAT IS A PORTFOLIO?

A portfolio is a collection of student’s work which gives evidence to show how the student can meet the specified learning outcomes. A typical portfolio consists of work selected by the student, reasons for selecting these works and self-reflection on the learning process. Portfolio is a developmental process, thus it is not only the product the student or teacher assess upon but also the learning process in which the student develops during the given period. Portfolio is an assessment method that monitors the growth and development of student learning.

STRUCTURE OF PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT

Unlike most assessments, portfolio assessment can contain many different forms of assessments as it is a collection of student’s work. A portfolio assessment is sometimes followed by an oral assessment.

Three Types of Assessment Portfolios: (Park University CETL, accessed on 3rd July 2008)

Documentation Portfolio is to highlight development and improvement of student learning during a given period of time. It often contains a range of artifacts from brainstormed lists to rough drafts to finished products.

Process Portfolio is similar to documentation portfolio, in which it contains all the evidences required to prove the learning outcomes in the given time, in addition, it integrates reflection and higher-order cognitive activities. It emphasizes metacognitive functioning and encourages students to become active participants in understanding their own learning. Process portfolio often contains documentation of reflection such as learning logs, journals and diaries.

Product Portfolio is a portfolio to demonstrate a student’s best work. This type of portfolio is typically used for interview. It is more a summative assessment and has no reflection on the learning process.

ADVANTAGES OF PORTFOLIO

• Portfolio is an assessment method which gives students the opportunity to be responsible for their own learning. Students often give a pride of ownership on their work.
• The self-reflection on each steps allow them to improve as they see themselves progressing over time at the different stages.
• Portfolio is an authentic assessment method, it determines meaningful work and often has personal relevance.
• It promotes diversity of assessment methods.
• It encourages motivation due to the visibility of the final portfolio.
• It promotes creativity, individuality and uniqueness in the assessment of learning.
• It assesses all levels of blooms taxonomy.
• It shifts teacher’s focus from comparative ranking to improving understanding via feedback.
• Learning should not be all about the end result, portfolio is one of those assessment methods which allow students to demonstrate more than the end result – a process orientated method.
• High validity.

DISADVANTAGES OF PORTFOLIO

• Portfolio is a very time-consuming assessment method in terms of planning, responding, correcting and providing feedback.
• Clear instructions and guidelines must be given to students, as often students take portfolio as a collection of their work only with no justification on reasoning and reflective statements. A sample or defined portfolio size should also be shown.
• Plagiarism can occurred.
• It is a subjective assessment method and teachers sometimes find it difficult to assess, as it is difficult to measure reliability.
• Students may overspend their time on the presentation of the portfolio, and not on the actual content. Tutor and peer assessors may also be affected by these effects and overlook the meaningful ideas behind the topic.

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