On this page:
- What is a portfolio?
- Portfolios as a data-collection method for assessment
- Advantages and disadvantages
- Creating and designing portfolios
- Questions to ask before adopting portfolios
- E-Portfolios
- Links: universities implementing portfolios; online portfolios
- E-portfolio software and review
1. What is a portfolio?
Back to Top
A portfolio is a systematic collection of student work that represents student activities, accomplishments, and achievements over a specific period of time in one or more areas of the curriculum. There are two main types of portfolios:
Showcase Portfolios:Students select and submit their best work. The showcase portfolio emphasizes the products of learning.
Developmental Portfolios: Students select and submit pieces of work that can show evidence of growth or change over time. The growth portfolio emphasizes the process of learning.
STUDENTS’ REFLECTIVE ESSAY: In both types of portfolios, students write reflective essays or introductory memos to the faculty/assessment committee to explain the work and reflect on how the collection demonstrates their accomplishments, explains why they selected the particular examples, and/or describes changes in their knowledge/ability/attitude.
2. Portfolios as a data-collection method for assessment
Back to Top
Portfolios can be created for course assessment as well as program assessment. Although the content may be similar, the assessment process is different.
| Course Portfolio | Program Portfolio |
| Course portfolios contain products of student learning within a course, within a single term. | Program portfolios draw from several courses, extracurricular activities, internships, and other experiential learning related to the program. Program portfolios can serve the same purpose as an exit exam: provide evidence of the cumulative effect of the program. |
| Students include items from a single course. | Students select items from multiple courses and may be required to submit items from co-curricular activities, internships, employment, etc. |
| Students write a reflective essay or cover memo to explain the portfolio and their learning. | Students write a reflective essay or cover memo to explain the portfolio and their learning. |
| All students in a single course participate. | All students in the program participate. |
| Course instructor scores portfolio by using a scoring rubric(s). | Multiple faculty members, not the instructor, score the portfolio by using a scoring rubric(s). |
| Usually every item and every student’s portfolio is scored. | Either all portfolios or a sample of portfolios is scored. In some cases, particular items are scored from the portfolio. |
3. Advantages and disadvantages
Back to Top
Advantages of a portfolio
- Enables faculty to assess a set of complex tasks, including interdisciplinary learning and capabilities, with examples of different types of student work.
- Helps faculty identify curriculum gaps, a lack of alignment with outcomes.
- Promotes faculty discussions on student learning, curriculum, pedagogy, and student support services.
- Encourages student reflection on their learning. Students may come to understand what they have and have not learned.
- Provides students with documentation for job applications or applications to graduate school.
Disadvantages of a portfolio
- Faculty time required to prepare the portfolio assignment and assist students as they prepare them. Logistics are challenging.
- Students must retain and compile their own work, usually outside of class. Motivating students to take the portfolio seriously may be difficult.
- Transfer students may have difficulties meeting program-portfolio requirements.
- Storage demands can overwhelm (which is one reason why e-portfolios are chosen).
4. Using portfolios in assessment
Back to Top
TIP: START SMALL.
Showcase portfolio: Consider starting with one assignment plus a reflective essay from a senior-level course as a pilot project. A faculty group evaluates the “mini-portfolios” using a rubric. Use the results from the pilot project to guide faculty decisions on adding to or modifying the portfolio process.
Developmental portfolio: Consider starting by giving a similar assignment in two sequential courses: e.g., students write a case study in a 300-level course and again in a 400-level course. In the 400-level course, students also write a reflection based on their comparison of the two case studies. A faculty group evaluates the “mini-portfolios” using a rubric. Use the results to guide the faculty members as they modify the portfolio process.
Suggested steps:
- Determine the purpose of the portfolio. Decide how the results of a portfolio evaluation will be used to inform the program.
- Identify the learning outcomes the portfolio will address.Tip: Identify at least 6 course assignments that are aligned with the outcomes the portfolio will address. Note: When planning to implement a portfolio requirement, the program may need to modify activities or outcomes in courses, the program, or the institution.
- Decide what students will include in their portfolio. Portfolios can contain a range of items–plans, reports, essays, resume, checklists, self-assessments, references from employers or supervisors, audio and video clips. In a showcase portfolio, students include work completed near the end of their program. In a developmental portfolio, students include work completed early and late in the program so that development can be judged.Tip: Limit the portfolio to 3-4 pieces of student work and one reflective essay/memo.
- Identify or develop the scoring criteria (e.g., a rubric) to judge the quality of the portfolio.Tip: Include the scoring rubric with the instructions given to students (#6 below).
- Establish standards of performance and examples (e.g., examples of a high, medium, and low scoring portfolio).
- Create student instructions that specify how students collect, select, reflect, format, and submit.Tip: Emphasize to students the purpose of the portfolio and that it is their responsibility to select items that clearly demonstrate mastery of the learning outcomes.
Emphasize to faculty that it is their responsibility to help students by explicitly tying course assignments to portfolio requirements.
Collect – Tell students where in the curriculum or co-curricular activities they will produce evidence related to the outcomes being assessed.
Select – Ask students to select the evidence. Instruct students to label each piece of evidence according to the learning outcome being demonstrated.
Reflect – Give students directions on how to write a one or two-page reflective essay/memo that explains why they selected the particular examples, how the pieces demonstrate their achievement of the program outcomes, and/or how their knowledge/ability/attitude changed.
Format –Tell students the format requirements (e.g., type of binder, font and style guide requirements, online submission requirements).
Submit – Give submission (and pickup) dates and instructions.
- A faculty group scores the portfolios using the scoring criteria. Use examples of the standards of performance to ensure consistency across scoring sessions and readers.Tip: In large programs, select a random sample of portfolios to score (i.e., do not score every portfolio).
- Share the results and use them to improve the program.
5. Questions to consider before adopting a portfolio requirement
Back to Top
- What is the purpose of the portfolio requirement? To document student learning? Demonstrate student development? Learn about students’ reflections on their learning? Create a document useful to students? Help students grow through personal reflection on their personal goals?
- Will portfolios be showcase or developmental?
- When and how will students be told about the requirement, including what materials they need to collect or to produce for it?
- What are the minimum and maximum lengths or sizes for portfolios?
- Who will decide which materials will be included in portfolios- -faculty or students?
- What elements will be required in the portfolio- -evidence only from courses in the discipline, other types of evidence, evidence directly tied to learning outcomes, previously graded products or clean copies?
- Will students be graded on the portfolios? If so, how and by whom?
- How will the portfolios be assessed to evaluate and improve the program?
- What can be done for students who have inadequate evidence through no fault of their own? (E.g., transfer students)
- What will motivate students to take the portfolio requirement seriously?
- How will the portfolio be submitted–hard copy or electronic copy?
- Who “owns” the portfolios–students or the program/university? If the program/university owns them, how long will the portfolios be retained after the students graduate?
- Who has access to the portfolios and for what purposes?
- How will student privacy and confidentiality be protected?
6. E-portfolios (electronic portfolios)
Back to Top
Traditional portfolios consist of papers in a folder. Electronic or “e-portfolios” consist of documents stored electronically. Electronic portfolios offer rich possibilities for learning and assessment, with the added dimension of technology.
- Critical considerations
- What about an electronic portfolio is central to the assessment?
- Who is the audience for the portfolio? Will that audience have the hardware, software, skills, time, and inclination to access the portfolio electronically?
- Does the institution have the hardware and software in place to create portfolios electronically? If not, what will it cost and who will install it? Does the institution have the IT/technical staff to support e-portfolios?
- What is the current level of computer skills of the students and faculty members involved in this project? Who will teach them how to use the technology necessary to create and view electronic portfolios?
- E-Portfolio Advantages:
- Easy to share with multiple readers simultaneously.
- Allows for asynchronous use for both students and faculty.
- Allows for multi-media product submissions.
- Offers search strategies for easy access to materials.
- Makes updating entries easier.
- Creating navigational links may help students see how their experiences interrelate.
- Provides students the opportunity to improve as well as demonstrate their technology skills.
- Allows faculty to remain in touch with students after graduation if the portfolio can become students’ professional portfolio.
- E-Portfolio Disadvantages:
- Time is needed to master the software. Students may not have sufficient computer skills to showcase their work properly.
- Faculty and students may be reluctant to learn a new software program.
- Requires IT expertise and support for both students and faculty.
- Cost associated with developing an in-house platform or the purchase of a commercial product may be expensive.
- Cost associated with maintaining portfolio software. Ongoing support and training are necessary.
- An external audience may not have access to proprietary software. Proprietary software may hinder portability.
- Requires large amounts of computer space.
- Privacy and security. Who will have access to the portfolio?
7. Links to universities implementing portfolios
Back to Top
Truman State University:http://assessment.truman.edu/components/portfolio/
Penn State:http://portfolio.psu.edu/
University of Denver:https://portfolio.du.edu/pc/index
8. Electronic portfolio software
Back to Top
Laulima Open Source Portfolio. Laulima has an Open Source Portfolio (OSP) tool option. Contact UH ITS for information about turning on this tool.
List of E-Portfolio Software & Tools.ePortfolio-related Tools and Technologieswiki.
Sources Consulted:
- Skidmore College, Assessment at Skidmore College,http://cms.skidmore.edu/assessment/Handbook/portfolio.cfm
- Mary Allen – University of Hawaii at Manoa Spring 2008 Assessment Workshops
- ERIC Digest, Assessment Portfolios (ED447725),http://www.users.muohio.edu/shermalw/eric_digests/ed447725.pdf
- Portfolio Assessment: Instructional Guide (2nd Ed.),http://libdr1.ied.edu.hk/pubdata/img00/arch00/link/archive/1/instarh/1921_image.pdf
- Cambridge, B.L., Kahn, S., Tompkins, D.P., Yancey, K.B. (Eds.). (2001).Electronic portfolios: Emerging practices in student, faculty, and institutional learning. Washington, DC: American Association for Higher Education.
FAQs
Advantages of a portfolio
Helps faculty identify curriculum gaps, a lack of alignment with outcomes. Promotes faculty discussions on student learning, curriculum, pedagogy, and student support services. Encourages student reflection on their learning. Students may come to understand what they have and have not learned.
How can portfolios be used for assessment? ›
A portfolio allows "staff and students to understand the educational process at the level of the individual," making the learning and assessment based on the individual and not the general class such as a test (Paulson 1991).
What is a portfolio and why is it important to the process of assessment? ›
The primary purpose of an assessment portfolio is to document student learning on specific curriculum outcomes. The items in the portfolio should be designed to elicit the knowledge and skill specified in the outcomes. Assessment portfolios may be used to demonstrate mastery in any curricular area.
How would make portfolio assessment an effective way to assess student learning? ›
A portfolio assessment provides an opportunity for a student to reflect on their learning, to self assess, and to formulate a deeper understanding of the concepts they are learning beyond a simple surface explanation.
What is one of the main benefits of portfolio assessment? ›
One of the main benefits of portfolios is that they can provide a more authentic, holistic, and personalized assessment of student learning. Portfolios can capture the complexity, depth, and diversity of student work, and reflect their individual strengths, goals, and passions.
What are three purposes of a portfolio? ›
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. You and your students need to believe that the selection of and reflection upon their work serves one or more meaningful purposes.
What is the purpose of a portfolio in education? ›
Portfolios provide documented evidence of teaching from a variety of sources—not just student ratings—and provide context for that evidence. The process of selecting and organizing material for a portfolio can help one reflect on and improve one's teaching.
What is the purpose of a learning portfolio? ›
A learning portfolio is a collection of artifacts that represent the learning and interests of an individual. The purpose is to provide evidence of what one has learned, especially how it relates to standards such as those found in the common core curriculum.
What is the purpose of a portfolio example? ›
A portfolio is a living and changing collection of records that reflect your accomplishments, skills, experiences, and attributes. It highlights and showcases samples of some of your best work, along with life experiences, values and achievements.
What is the most important about portfolio and performance based assessment? ›
A key feature of a performance-based assessment is that it requires children to produce an end result - this could be a report, a performance or an experiment. This is then scored against a set of criteria.
Decide on the purpose/s for using e-portfolios
You can use e-portfolios for: presentation of best work and accomplishments. documenting the learning process – includes guidance around reflection, analysing, thinking critically, making connections, identifying problems, and learning over time.
What do you think are the possible challenges in using a portfolio assessment? ›
In assessment by portfolio both educators and learners are treading unfamiliar territory. They encounter problems such as resistance, non-completion and difficulties with evaluating the portfolio and assessing the evidence.
What is an example of a portfolio based assessment? ›
Portfolio assessments ask students or teachers to collect work products that show growth over a specific period of time. Examples of work products include collections of student essays, artwork, lab reports or reading logs.
How effective is the portfolio as an assessment tool in writing? ›
Portfolios are potent devices in teaching and learning writing. In addition, a portfolio approach provides students with opportunities to revise, edit, and ask for help, and they can evaluate what they have learned about learning. The reflection due to the editing process helps the learners promote their learning.
How can you make an effective and a learning portfolio? ›
Steps to Creating a Portfolio
- Determine if a paper or electronic portfolio best meets your needs.
- Gather relevant artifacts and examples of your skills, values, abilities, work, and achievements. ...
- Create a structure that best highlights your skills and achievements based on your career objective.
Portfolio management ensures minimum risk, maximises return for clients' investment and increases their capital. Understanding how to manage portfolios can help you successfully handle investments and ensure every client meets their financial goals.
What is a major advantage of portfolio? ›
A portfolio gives you a holistic view of all your assets and enables you to see the gaps in your investment plan vis a vis your financial objectives. Portfolio management allows you to take more informed decisions about the kind of investments you should make.
What are the benefits of portfolio management that is effective and efficient? ›
10 Key Benefits of Project Portfolio Management
- Align Project Goals With Business Strategy. ...
- Improved Project Selection Process. ...
- A Clearer View of Long Term Objectives. ...
- Focus on Objective Business Goals. ...
- Collaboration Instead of Competition. ...
- Efficient Use of Resources. ...
- Accurate Project Performance Data.
One of the greatest strengths of portfolio assessment in program evaluation may be its power as a tool to communicate program impact to those outside of the program.
What is a portfolio and what advantage does it give? ›
In detail, it is the system of showcasing your previous work with other clients. A portfolio should include your past work experiences, qualifications, and skills, degrees or certifications you've completed, any awards or accolades you've earned, as well as some examples of your work.
Portfolios can encourage students to take more ownership and responsibility over the learning process. In some schools, portfolios are a way for students to critique and evaluate their own work and academic progress, often during the process of deciding what will be included in their portfolios.
What does portfolio mean assessment for learning? ›
Assessment based on the systematic collection of learner work (such as written assignments, drafts, artwork, and presentations) that represents competencies, exemplary work, or the learner's developmental progress.
What are the key elements of portfolio assessment? ›
The main components of portfolio assessment are student choice (Paris &Ayres, 1994), engagement in self-reflection (Yancey, 1996), and evidence of growth (Paulson et al., 1991).
How will having a portfolio benefit you in the future? ›
Having a portfolio allows you to showcase your versatility and adaptability by showcasing different projects or skill sets. This can help you stand out from the competition and show potential employers that you are capable of keeping up with the ever-evolving technological landscape.
What value do ePortfolios bring to students? ›
build learners' personal and academic identities as they complete complex projects and reflect on their capabilities and progress, facilitate the integration of learning as students connect learning across courses and time, be focused on developing self-assessment abilities in which students judge the quality of work ...
Why should a teacher encourage students to have their work portfolios? ›
Portfolios prepare students for the world of work
Portfolios encourage students to review their past work and reflect on their strengths and weaknesses. This act of self-discovery helps students hone in on skills and areas of interest that can translate into a career path.
Is using a portfolio assessment reliable? ›
The reliability of portfolio assessment is problematic, since it is incapable of fulfilling the classic psychometric requirement of reliability. Nevertheless, provided that the necessary measures are taken, the reliability of portfolio assessment can still be brought to an acceptable level.
What are the three 3 key considerations in evaluating a candidate's portfolio? ›
There are three key criteria to take into consideration when assessing a portfolio: the combined value of the projects in the portfolio, the overall risk/value balance, and the alignment of the portfolio with the strategic goals of your business.
What are the challenges to using portfolios? ›
4 Portfolio Management Challenges and How to Solve Them
- Education. There is a severe lack of education among many of those who take on portfolio management. ...
- Formatting. When managing a portfolio, it can be a real challenge to try and see various projects from multiple places in the same format. ...
- Reporting. ...
- Integration.
A portfolio assessment is a systematic and organized collection of evidence used by the teacher and student to monitor the growth of the student's knowledge, skills, and attitudes in a specific subject area. Key Points. The portfolio is a collection of students' work representing a selection of performances.
While portfolio assessments focus on self-reflection and evidence of growth over time through samples of work products, performance assessments require students to directly apply what they have learned in realistic situations.
What are the three key factors to success with portfolio management? ›
A successful Project Portfolio Management solution consists of three fundamental components that must be implemented in adherence to business value and strategy.
- 1 – Project Selection. ...
- 2 – Project Resources. ...
- 3 – Project Information.
Diversification is a core portfolio strategy that can reduce your risk of loss and bring you a higher return. In fact, diversification is one of the cornerstones of the modern portfolio theory (MPT.)
Why are student portfolios beneficial? ›
Portfolios accurately illustrate student growth over time. Portfolios offer students an opportunity to learn about their own learning. Portfolios allow students to document their learning progress. Portfolios encourage students to develop the abilities they need to become self- directed learners.
What is the purpose of a working portfolio for students? ›
The key idea is that the working portfolio is a personal archive that compiles not just the best samples and most important experiences or courses, but also various personally significant milestones that illustrate your development.
What is one of the benefits to using portfolio assessments quizlet? ›
What is one of the benefits to using portfolio assessments? Student portfolios reflect real-world tasks.
What is portfolio assessment and the advantages of using this type of assessment in evaluating student performance or products? ›
Portfolio is an assessment method which gives students the opportunity to be responsible for their own learning. Students often develop a proud ownership of their work. The self-reflection in each step allows students to improve as they see themselves progressing over time at the different stages.
What is the benefit of creating a portfolio? ›
With the help of a portfolio, you can pursue a career of your choice. A work portfolio also helps professionals to self-evaluate their career growth and plan for future goals. In addition, a career portfolio can provide candidates with a professional identity.
What is portfolio with purpose? ›
Portfolios with Purpose ("PwP") is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2011. It is an annual virtual stock selection competition in which players of novice and professional experience pay a nominal entry-fee to choose a five-stock, long-term portfolio.
How can an ePortfolio help you develop your skills as a future educator? ›
Decide on the purpose/s for using e-portfolios
You can use e-portfolios for: presentation of best work and accomplishments. documenting the learning process – includes guidance around reflection, analysing, thinking critically, making connections, identifying problems, and learning over time.
The most important factor of a performance assessment is the criteria or rubric. A rubric should provide clarity for the students to understand what the performance assessment is testing for, how to complete a performance assessment and how to get a specific grade or score.
How do portfolio assessment impact student's academic performance? ›
Portfolio assessment enables students to reflect their real performance, to show their weak and strong domain and to observe student's progress during the learning process, and encourages students to take responsibilities for their own learning.
