PCK 132: ASSESSMENT IN LEARNING 2

Chapter 6:
Portfolio Assessment
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Objectives: At the end of the chapter, the students should be able to:
a. appreciate the features of portfolio as a process-oriented and product-oriented performance-
based assessment by giving their insights about it;
b. draft a learning task design on portfolio as an output; and
c. design assessment tools for portfolio assessment.

Introduction:

Portfolio has been utilized in the classroom then by teachers in the form of
scrapbooks but these were not taken formally as an assessment in learning . With the
broad expansion into the academic arena that took place in the 1990s when there
had been a shift in the assessment practices, portfolio assessment has been a
significant part in the movement toward performance assessment. This change was
fostered by a climate of criticism of traditional assessment techniques, especially
multiple-choice testing.

Damiani briefly describes a portfolio as a collection of student work with a

common theme or purpose. Portfolios are often described as a more authentic means
of assessment than the traditional classroom test. Rather than showing that the
learner knows what s/he has been taught, the portfolio demonstrates that the student
can s/he can do with what has been taught. The use of portfolio document prove
changes or improvements in learning style and performance of students, to as far as
gaining admission to special schools and even to employment. Related to this,
students (in college level) are advised to construct their own portfolios and bring this
in job interviews to show proofs of their accomplishments /what they are capable of
doing in their profession.

The use of the portfolio as an assessment tool is a process with multiple steps.
The process takes time, and all of the component parts must be in place before the
assessment can be utilized effectively. These will be discussed with some depth in
this chapter.

A. What is Portfolio?

1. Definition of Portfolio
- A portfolio is a compilation of student work assembled for the purposes of:
a. evaluating coursework quality and academic achievement,
b. creating a lasting archive of academic work products, and
c. determining whether students have met learning standards or academic requirements
for courses, grade-level promotion, and graduation.
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- Advocates of student portfolios argue that compiling, reviewing, and evaluating student
work over time can provide a richer and more accurate picture of what students have
learned and are able to do than more traditional measures, such as standardized tests or
final exams that reflect only what a student knows at a specific point in time.

- On the other hand, Mueller, states that portfolio is a collection of a student's work
specifically selected to tell a particular story about the student. A portfolio is not the pile of
student work that accumulates over a semester or year. Rather, a portfolio contains a
purposefully selected subset of student work. "Purposefully" selecting student work
means deciding what type of story you want the portfolio to tell. The particular purpose/s
served, the number and type of items included the process for selecting the items to be
included, how and whether students respond to the items selected, and other decisions
vary from portfolio to portfolio and serve to define what each portfolio looks like.
(http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/portfolios.htm)

2. Uses of Portfolio
According to Damiani, an expert in portfolio assessment, a portfolio has several uses which
includes the following:

a. Development of students’ cognitive skills. When students have specific qualitative

goals to meet, they practice skills that enhance their learning and effectively develop
products. Designing a product with specific goals in mind can improve planning skills and
contribute to realistic self-appraisal. Specific descriptors mitigate vague self-
assessments, unrealistic positive or negative self-evaluation, generalized “all or nothing”
self-perceptions (my work is always bad or always good) and perfectionism.

b. Documentation of teacher effectiveness. Portfolios can assist the teacher in

demonstrating that students have met learning standards or goals, that technology and
other varied teaching techniques are being used in the classroom, and that students are
actively engaged in learning.

c. For students with special needs. Many goals on Individual Education Programs (IEP)
of students with significant disabilities cannot be assessed by traditional objective or
standardized tests. If a student is to learn to tie shoes, remove and hang up a jacket, or
wash hands independently, the video component of a portfolio could document these
accomplishments.

d. Communication between home and school or school and community. It is very

important to establish communication with parents when using portfolios. Portfolios can
enhance communication between school and home if they are used appropriately. For
example, a collection of student writing from the beginning to the end of first grade can
provide powerful documentation of student progress. Work done by an eighth-grade class
to address a local environmental problem can do more to show to the community what
students are learning in science than a set of test results. Videos of students’ activities in
school in the various subjects can be seen by stakeholders.
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3. Types of Portfolios According to Purpose

There are a variety of portfolio types, each designed to help assess either the process or the
products of learning (Fernsten, n.d.).

a. Showcase portfolios.
Showcase portfolios highlight the best products over a particular time or course.
For example, a showcase portfolio in a composition class may include the best examples
of different writing genres, such as an essay, a poem, a short story, a biographical piece,
or a literary analysis. In a business class, the showcase portfolio may include a resume,
sample business letters, a marketing project, and a collaborative assignment that
demonstrates the individual's ability to work in a team. Students are often allowed to
choose what they believe are their best work, highlighting their achievements and skills.
Showcase reflections typically focus on the strengths of selected pieces and discuss how
each met or exceeded required standards.
Showcase portfolios serve to:
i. exhibit end-of-year/semester accomplishments
ii. prepare a sample of best work for employment or college admission
iii. display student perceptions of favorite, best or most important work
iv. communicate a student's current aptitudes to future teachers

b. Process or developmental portfolios

This type by contrast, concentrate more on the journey of learning rather than the
destination or end products of the learning process. In the composition class. For
example, different stages of the (research or theme) writing process - an outline, first
draft, peer and teacher responses, early revisions, and a final edited draft may be
required. A process reflection may discuss why a particular strategy was used, what was
useful or ineffective for the individual in the process, and how the student went about
making progress in the face of difficulty in meeting requirements. A process reflection
typically focuses on many aspects of the learning process, including the following: what
approaches worked best, which were ineffective, information about oneself as a learner,
and strategies or approaches to remember in future assignments.
Process or developmental portfolios aim to:
i. show development or change over time,
ii. help develop process skills such as self-evaluation and goal setting,
iii. identify strengths and weaknesses, and
iv. track the progress of one more products/performances.

c. Evaluation Portfolios
Evaluation portfolios may vary substantially in their content. Their basic purpose,
however, remains to exhibit a series of appraisals over a course and the learning or
accomplishments of the student regarding previously determined criteria or goals.
Essentially, this type of portfolio documents tests, observations, records, or other
assessment artifacts required for successful completion of the course. A math evaluation
 PCK 132: ASSESSMENT IN LEARNING 2
portfolio may include tests, quizzes, and written explanations of how one went about
solving a problem or determining which formula to use, whereas a science evaluation
portfolio might also include laboratory experiments, science project outcomes with photos
or other artifacts, and research reports, as well as tests and quizzes. Unlike the
showcase portfolio, evaluation portfolios do not simply include the best work, but rather a
selection of predetermined entries that may also demonstrate students' difficulties and
unsuccessful struggles as well as their better work. Students reflect on why some works
were successful while other work were not, hence they continue their learning as they
develop their metacognitive skills.
Evaluation portfolios can:
i. document achievement for grading purposes,
ii. document progress towards standards, and
iii. place students appropriately (like in tracks or used in career decision-making
in choosing a degree in college).

d. Online or E-portfolios
Online or e-portfolios may be one of the above portfolio types or a combination of
different types, a general requirement being that all information and artifacts are
somehow accessible online. Several colleges require students to maintain a virtual
portfolio that may include digital, video, or Web-based products. The portfolio assessment
process may be linked to a specific course or an entire program. As with all portfolios,
students can visually track and show their accomplishments to a wide audience.

B. What is Portfolio Assessment?

Sosnowski and Fernsten present similar contentions that as an alternate assessment
strategy, the portfolio provides students with the opportunity to select a progression of work
to demonstrate knowledge of a topic. Portfolio is an evaluation tool used to document
student learning through a series of student-developed artifacts. Considered a form of
authentic assessment, it offers an alternative or an addition to traditional methods of grading
and high stakes exams. Portfolio assessment gives both teachers and students a controlled
space to document, review, and analyze learning. In short, portfolios are a collection of
student work that allows assessment by providing evidence of effort and accomplishments in
relation to specific instructional goals (Jardine, 1996). At its best, portfolio as assessment
demands the following: clarity of goals, explicit criteria for evaluation, work samples tied to
those goals, student participation in the selection of entries, teacher and student involvement
in the assessment process, and self-reflections that demonstrate students' metacognitive
ability - that is, their understanding of what worked for them in the learning process, what did
not, and why. These elements enhance the learning experience and the understanding of
oneself as learner.
In his view, Mueller, in response to the question Are Portfolios Authentic Assessments?
points that while some suggest that portfolios are not really assessments at all because they
are just collections of previously completed assessments, he argues that if we consider
assessing as gathering of information about someone or something for a purpose, then a
portfolio is a type of assessment.
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Sometimes the portfolio is also evaluated or graded, but that is not necessary to be
considered an assessment.
Note: Should we rate the submitted portfolio when all entries were already rated/graded?
There are still technicalities that can be rated like the neatness, organization of entries,
timeliness of submission of the entire portfolio. The portfolio is a self- presentation of
each student. As for me, your output is a reflection of you as a worker, and as a person.

On account if portfolios are authentic assessments, Mueller answers that student

portfolios have most commonly been associated with collections of artworks and, to a lesser
extent, collections of writing. Students in these disciplines are performing authentic tasks
which capture meaningful application of knowledge and skills. Their portfolios often tell
compelling stories of the development of the students' talents and a showcase their skills
through a collection of authentic performances. Educators are expanding this storytelling to
other disciplines such as physical education, mathematics, and the social sciences and in all
subjects to capture the variety of demonstrations of meaningful application of learning of
students within these disciplines. Furthermore, in the more thoughtful portfolio assignments,
students are asked to reflect on their work, to engage in self-assessment and goal setting.
These are two of the most authentic skills that students need to develop to successfully
function in the real world. Research has found that students in classes that emphasize
improvement, progress, effort, and the process of learning rather than grades and normative
performance are more likely to use a variety of learning strategies and have a more positive
attitude toward learning. Yet in education, we have shortchanged the process of learning in
favor of the products of learning. Students are not regularly asked to examine how they
succeeded or failed or improved on a task or to set goals for future work; the final product
and evaluation of it receives the bulk of the attention in many classrooms. If the product is
given more importance in the portfolio task, students are not developing the metacognitive
skills that will enable them to reflect upon and adjust in their learning in school and beyond.

In short, portfolios provide an excellent vehicle for consideration of process and the
development of related skills. So, portfolios are frequently included with other types of
authentic assessments because they move away from telling a student's story though test
scores and, instead, focus on a meaningful collection of student performance and
meaningful reflection and evaluation of that work.

C. Key Elements and Procedures in Portfolio Assessment

According to Mueller, for effective portfolio assessment to be realized, there are key
questions that must be answered satisfactorily. Herewith are the seven key questions:
1. What is the purpose(s) of the portfolio?
As mentioned earlier, before you can design the portfolio assignment and before your
students can begin constructing their portfolios, the teacher and students need to be clear
about the story/theme that the portfolio will be telling. Certainly, the teacher should not
assign a portfolio unless s/he has a compelling reason to do so. Portfolios take work to
create, manage and assess. They can easily feel like busywork and a burden to you and
your students if they just become folders filled with student papers.
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Teacher and students need to believe that the selection of and reflection upon their work
serves one or more meaningful purposes.
Note: As a teacher, decide with your students about the portfolio, secondly, since this is a
taxing activity, consult and agree with co-teachers in other courses about the plan so that
students can have one portfolio that may address other subjects too.

2. For what audience(s) will the portfolio be created?

Selecting relevant audiences for a portfolio goes together with identifying your purposes.
Who should see the evidence of a student's progress? The student, teachers and parents
are good audiences to follow the story of a student's progress on a certain project or in
the development of certain skills. Other natural audiences come to mind such as class or
schoolmates, external audiences such parents, for entry in college and future employers,
the local community or other interest groups.

3. What samples of student work will be included?

The answer to the question of content is dependent on the answers to the questions of
purpose and audience. What should be included? Hypothetically, there is no limit as to
what can be included in a portfolio. Obviously, there are a considerable number and
variety of types of student work that can be selected as samples for a portfolio. Using the
purposes given above for each type of portfolio, the teacher and the class decide on the
core and optional materials to be placed in the portfolio. Core contents are the
mandatory entries as required by the teacher or agreed upon by the entire class and the
optional entries are those that the student freely chooses to include in the portfolio.
Obviously, there should be a limit to how many optional entries can be placed in the
portfolio.
In addition to samples of student work and reflection upon that work, a portfolio should
also include a table of contents, a cover page and preface, both typically composed by
the student to aid a reader in making sense of the purposes, the processes, and self-
reflections of the learners. These are particularly useful if the portfolio is to be shared
with external audiences unfamiliar with the coursework such as parents, other educators,
and community members.

4. What processes will be engaged in during the development of the portfolio?

One of the greatest attributes of the portfolio is its potential for focusing on the processes
of learning. Too often in education, we emphasize the products students create or the
outcomes they achieve. But we do not give sufficient attention to the processes required
to create those products or outcomes, the processes involved in self-diagnosis and self-
improvement, or the metacognitive processes of thinking. As a result, the products or
outcomes are not as good as we or the students would like because they are often
unsure how to get started, how to self-diagnose or self-correct or how to determine when
a piece of work is "finished."
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Although a variety of processes can be developed or explored through portfolios, Mueller
suggests on three of the most common:
a. Selection of Contents. Once again, identifying the purpose(s) for the portfolio should
drive the selection process. Additionally, how samples are selected might also differ
depending on the purpose. On the other hand, involving the student in the decision-
making process of determining appropriate types of samples for inclusion might be
more critical. Furthermore, audiences beyond the teacher and student might have
input into the content of the portfolio, from team or department members, principals,
and district committees to external agencies, to parents and community members.
External audiences are most likely to play a role for evaluation portfolios. However, it
is important to remember there are no hard rules about portfolios. Anything can be
included in a portfolio. Anyone from the interest group/stakeholder can be involved in
the processes of selection, reflection, and evaluation of a portfolio. Flexibility applies
to portfolios as it does to any authentic assessment. That is, you should be true to
your purpose(s), but you should feel no constraints on how you meet them with a
portfolio assignment.
b. Reflection on Samples of Work. Many educators who work with portfolios consider
the reflection component the most critical element of a good portfolio. Students are
missing significant benefits from the portfolio process if they are not asked to reflect
upon the quality and development of their work. As Paulson, Paulson, and Meyer
(1991) stated, "The portfolio is something that is done by the student, not to the
student." Most importantly, it is something done for the student. The student needs to
be directly involved in each phase of the portfolio development to learn the most from
it, and the reflection phase holds the most promise for promoting student
development.
Reflection as a Process Skill
Reflection enhances the process of skills development and virtually of all learning
in innumerable settings. As a skill, reflection is not something that can be mastered in
one or two attempts. Developing good reflective skills requires instruction and
modeling, lots of practice, feed forward and reflection. As many of you have probably
encountered, when students are first asked to respond to prompts such as "I selected
this piece because..." they may respond with "I think it is nice." That is a start. But we
would like them to elaborate on that response. The fact that they did not initially
elaborate is probably not just a result of resistance or reluctance. Students need to
learn how to respond to such prompts. They need to learn how to effectively identify
strengths and weaknesses, to set realistic goals for themselves and their work, and to
develop meaningful strategies to address those goals. Students often have become
dependent upon adults, particularly teachers to evaluate their work. They need to
learn self-assessment.
So, the reflection phase of the portfolio process should be ongoing throughout
the portfolio development. Students need to engage in multiple reflective activities.
Those instances of reflection become particularly focused if goal setting is part of
their reflection. Just as instruction and assessment are more appropriately targeted if
they are tied to specific standards or goals, student identification of and reflection
 PCK 132: ASSESSMENT IN LEARNING 2
upon their strengths and weaknesses, examples of progress, and strategies for
improvement will be more meaningful and purposeful if they are directed toward
specific goals, particularly self-chosen goals.
Once opportunities for reflection (practice) has taken place, feed forward and
feedback to and further reflection upon student observations can be provided by
conversations with others. Conferencing is one tool to promote such feedback and
reflection.
In the reflection phase, students are typically asked to:
✓ comment on why specific samples were selected,
✓ comment on what they liked and did not like in the samples,
✓ comment on or identify the processes involved in developing specific
products or performances,
✓ describe and point to examples of how specific skills or knowledge improved
(or did not),
✓ identify strengths and weaknesses in samples of work,
✓ set goals for themselves corresponding to the strengths and weaknesses,
✓ identify strategies for reaching those goals,
✓ assess their past and current self-efficacy for a task or skill,
✓ complete a checklist or survey about their work, or
✓ some combination of the above.
Reflection Prompts. Probably the most common portfolio reflection task is the
completion of a sheet to be attached to the sample (or samples) of work which the
reflection is addressing. The possibilities for reflection questions or prompts are
endless.

c. Conferencing on Student Work and Processes

With about 30 or more students in a classroom, one-on-one conversations between
the teacher and student are difficult to regularly arrange. That is unfortunate because
the give and take of face-to-face interaction can provide the teacher with valuable
information about the student's thinking and progress and provide the student with
meaningful feedback. Such feedback is also more likely to be processed by the
student than comments written on paper. Conferencing typically takes several forms:
A. Teacher-student
B. Teacher-small group
C. Student-student

5. How will time and materials be managed in the development of the portfolio?
As appealing as the process of students developing a portfolio can be, the physical
and time constraints of such a process can be daunting. Where do you keep all the stuff?
How do you keep track of students as they work on it? Who gets access to it and when?
Should you manage paper or create an electronic portfolio? Would some work get sent
home before it is put in the portfolio? Will it come back? When will you find the time for
students to participate, to reflect, to come for conference? What about students who join
your class rather late like transferees during the middle of the semester or year?
How you answer the many management questions below depends, in part, on how
you answered earlier questions about your purpose, audience, content and process.
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6. How and when will the portfolio be shared with pertinent audiences?
Reasons for sharing the portfolio
By the nature of the purposes of portfolios, portfolios are meant to be shared. A
portfolio should tell a story, and that story should be told. Students should primarily be the
ones telling their stories. As students reflect on the balance of their work over some
period, there is often a great sense of pride about its development and the
accomplishment. By telling their own stories, students can take ownership of the process
that led to the development and achievement. Assessment is no longer something done
to them; the students are playing an active role through self-assessment.
Furthermore, others will be able to recognize and celebrate in the development and
accomplishment of the students if their work is communicated beyond the borders of the
classroom.
Finally, the portfolio can provide an excellent tool for accountability. Parents,
educators, and community members can learn a great deal about what is happening in a
classroom or school or district by viewing and hearing about the contents of these stories.

Audiences to whom portfolio should be shared

Audiences within the classroom: In some classrooms, a portfolio is used much like
other assignments as evidence of progress towards or completion of course or grade
level goals and standards. In such cases, the only audience might be the teacher
who evaluates all the student work. Additionally, classmates can serve as an
audience for a portfolio. Particularly for older students, some teachers require or
encourage students to present their portfolios to each other for feedback, for dialogue
and for modeling purposes. As students see themselves tell each other about the
value and meaning of their work, it will become more valuable and meaningful to
them.
Audiences within the family and school community: As many parents have
experienced with their children, they sometimes only receive a small, fragmented
picture of their children's schoolwork. Portfolios provide an opportunity to give parents
a fuller glimpse of the processes and products and progress of their children's
learning. Many teachers intentionally involve the parents in the development of the
portfolio or make parents an audience or both.

7. If the portfolio is to be used for evaluation, when and how should it be evaluated?

Evaluation versus Grading. Evaluation refers to the act of making a judgment about
something and giving comments like feedforward. Grading takes that process one step
further by assigning a score or mark to that judgment or give feedback. Evaluation may
be sufficient for a portfolio assignment. What is/are the purpose/s of the portfolio? If the
purpose is to demonstrate improvement, the teacher could make judgments about the
evidence of progress and provide those judgments as feedback to the student or make
note of them for her own records. Similarly, the student could self-assess his/her own
progress, determine whether goals were met or not met. On a larger scale, an evaluation
of the contents within the portfolio or of the entire package may be conducted by external
bodies such as community members, and other educators for the purpose of judging
completion of certain standards or requirements.
On the other hand, the process of assembling and reflecting upon the portfolio comprise
a significant portion of a student's work or class that the teacher deems it appropriate to
assign a value to it and incorporate it into the student's final grade. Alternatively, some
teachers assign grades because they believe that without grades, there would not be
sufficient incentive for most students to complete the portfolio.
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What to Grade?
Nothing. Some teachers choose not to grade the portfolio because they have already
assigned grades to the contents that were selected for inclusion.
The metacognitive and organizational elements. Depending on its purpose,
students might have also included reflections on development, on strengths and
weaknesses, on goals that were or are to be set, on why certain samples tell a certain
story about them, or on why the contents reflect sufficient progress to indicate
completion of designated standards. Some of the process skills may also be part of
the teacher's or school's or district's standards. So, the portfolio provides some
evidence of attainment of those standards. Any or all of these elements can be
evaluated and/or graded.
Completion. Some portfolios are graded simply on whether or not the portfolio was
completed.
Everything. Other teachers evaluate the entire package: the selected samples of
student work as well as the reflections, the organization and presentation of the
portfolio.

How to grade or evaluate Portfolio Assessment?

Most of the portfolio assignments have been evaluated or graded with a rubric. By
applying a rubric, a tool which can provide some clarity and consistency to the
evaluation of such products, to the judgment of quality of the story being told and the
elements making up that story makes sense. Moreover, if the portfolio is to be
evaluated by multiple judges, application of a rubric increases the likelihood of
consistency among the judges.

Who shall evaluate Portfolio Assessment?

The more we can involve students in the assessment process, the more likely they
will take ownership of it, be engaged in it, and find it worthwhile. So, it makes sense
to involve students in the evaluation process of their portfolios. They have likely
engaged in some self-assessment in the reflection or goal-setting components of the
portfolio. Additionally, students are capable of evaluating how well their portfolio
elements met standards, requirements, or competencies - of their own portfolios or
those of their peers. Furthermore, older peers could make excellent judges of the
work of younger students. Cross-grade peer tutoring and evaluation has
demonstrated how well students respond to such interactions.
Obviously, the classroom teacher, other educators, review board members,
community members, etc. can all serve as judges of student work. If multiple judges
are involved, particularly if they are not directly familiar with the student work or
assignments, orientation on the assessment tool/s should be provided before
evaluation proceeds. The evaluators should be familiar with and have established
clear criteria and understood the levels of performance within the tool/s.

D. Benefits of Portfolio Assessment

1. They are a more individualized way of assessing students and have the advantage of
demonstrating a wide range of work.

2. They may be used in conjunction with other types of required assessments, such as
standardized or norm referenced tests. Often, portfolio contents are selected
collaboratively thereby allowing students an opportunity to make decisions about their
work and encouraging them to set goals regarding what has been accomplished and
what needs further work - an important skill that may serve them well in life endeavors.
 PCK 132: ASSESSMENT IN LEARNING 2
3. Portfolio assessment can promote a dialogue between teacher and students about the
individualized nature of the work. Too often, students may have papers or projects
returned with a number or letter grade only and fail to understand what might be
necessary for improvement. Required reflections in conjunction with conferencing
reduce the possibility that students will be unclear about the assessment or what must
be done to make improvements. This one-to-one conference is an additional bonus for
those students who may be too shy to initiate conversations with instructors as well as
for those who enjoy speaking about their work and may better understand what worked
and what did not through a verbal exchange.

4. Portfolio assessment provides an authentic way of demonstrating skills and

accomplishments. They encourage a real-world experience that demands skills in
organizing, decision making, and metacognition. Used in a thoughtful, carefully planned
way, portfolio assessment can foster a positive outlook on learning and achievement.

E. Functions of Portfolio Assessment (Sosnowski)

1. Using a portfolio for assessment allows the student to self-monitor her/his own learning,
2. Gives the teacher opportunity to see improvement in a student’s project.
3. The portfolio can be easily shared with parents, giving them concrete evidence of a
student's achievements and struggles.
4. As an element of an admission package, final exams and grades.
5. A means for students to celebrate their own accomplishments.

F. Advantages of Portfolio Assessment (Damiani)

1. Assesses what students can do and not just what they know.
2. Engages students actively.
3. Fosters student-teacher communication and depth of exploration.
4. Enhances understanding of the educational process among parents and in the
community
5. Provides goals for student learning.
6. Offers an alternative to traditional tests for students with special needs

G. Debate and Challenges of Portfolio Assessment

While the concept is not typically controversial, skepticism, criticism, and debate may
arise if portfolios are viewed as burdensome, add-on requirements rather than as central
organizing tool for a student’s academic career. Portfolios may also be viewed negatively if
they are poorly executed, if they tend to be filed away and forgotten, if they are not actively
maintained by students, if they are not meaningfully integrated into the school’s academic
program, or if educators do not use them to inform the instruction of students. In other
words, how portfolios are used or not used in schools, and whether they produce desired
educational results, will likely determine how they are perceived.
Damiani presents the following challenges:

1. Reliability: It can be quite difficult to establish scoring systems that are consistent
over raters or time. Reliability across raters is especially important if major decisions
are to be based on the assessment outcome.

2. Time: The construction portfolios and its assessment tools are time consuming. The
process requires hours needed to produce the product, time to develop a workable
scoring system, and training of the evaluator(s).
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3. Depth, not breadth: Portfolio assessment offers the opportunity for depth but not
breadth regarding the academic material that was covered. A written test can include
questions from an entire unit with a sample of items from all areas taught. Because
of the time it takes to produce products, it is not possible to have a portfolio that
represents every aspect of a unit. However, products in the portfolio, if chosen
properly, illustrate depth of mastery in the area assessed.

4. Fairness: It may be difficult for the evaluator to control outside influences on the
product such as parental assistance and access to resources like computers and
other learning materials among some students and not for others. If the assessment
contributes to high stakes decision making, lack of equity in resources can be a
significant problem.

5. Interpretation of results: Since the portfolio system is rarely standardized,

stakeholders may wonder what it really says about the student. How does the
learner compare to others at his age or grade level? Would the portfolio assessment
result be meaningful to those outside the school system such as college admission
officers or those selecting scholarship recipients? Those individuals will not know the
nature of the assignment, the help that was given, or the quality of the products of
other students in the group.

6. Contributions to learning: The use of the portfolio for assessment purposes could
detract from its most important contributions to the learning process, such as honest
teacher-student communication, forthright self-assessment, and working toward
one’s personal best. When the portfolio must be scored or assigned a grade,
students may tend to defend their work rather than engage in true self- assessment.
Teachers may focus more on the scoring process and less on effective
communication about the work.