1. Chapter 4 Portfolio
ED 450 Assessment &
Evaluation

2. Student Learning Objectives
• Define a portfolio
• List types of portfolios
• Explain why portfolios are useful in the
classroom
• Recognize the portfolio process

3. What is a Portfolio?
• “A portfolio is a collection of student work
gathered for a particular purpose that
exhibits to the students and others the
student’s efforts, progress, or
achievement in one or more areas.”
• It is an ongoing assessment

4. Contents of a Portfolio
• Creative Cover
• Letter to the Reader
• Table of Contents
• Six-Seven Student Artifacts
• Reflections
• Self-Evaluation
• Goal-Setting Page
• Conference Questions (optional)

5. Purpose a Portfolio
1. Document meeting district, state, or national
standards
2. Connect several subject areas to provide an
“integrated” assessment of the student
3. History/Record of student’s growth and
development over extended periods of a
semester, year or clusters of grades
4. Document the key concepts taught by teachers
5. Share at a job interview, promotion or
college entrance review.

6. Types of Portfolios
Writing
Process Folios
Literacy
Best-Work
Unit
Integrated
Year-long
Standards

7. Why Should We Use Portfolios?
• Tools for discussion with • Demonstrations of different
peers, teachers, and parents learning styles, multiple
• Demonstrations of students’ intelligences, cultural diversity
skills and understanding • Options for students to make
• Opportunities for students to critical choices about what
reflect on their work they select for their portfolio
matacognitively • Evidence to examine that
• Chances to examine current traces the development of
goals and set new ones students’ learning
• Documentation of students’ • Connections
development and growth in between prior
abilities, attitudes and knowledge and new
expressions learning

8. REMEMBER!
• “The FINAL PRODUCT is important, but
the PROCESS is equally important and
probably conveys more about how the
student learns.”
• The process of metacognition-thinking
about one’s thinking-helps students
become more self-reflective and
more empowered as stakeholders in
their learning.

9. How to implement Portfolios
Step 1:
Collect everything in a working portfolio
Step 2:
Select key pieces for final portfolio
Step 3:
Reflect on the selections

10. Step 1: Collection Process
• Ways of storage include:
large cardboard boxes,
cereal boxes, file folders,
CD’s, filing cabinets
• Working Portfolios:
Collect or make copies of
student work
• Variety of artifacts:
worksheets,
Videos, pictures, objects,
etc.

11. Step 2: Selection Process
1. WHO should select the items that go into
the final portfolio?
(TEACHERS & STUDENTS)
2. WHAT items should be selected?
(LESS IS MORE)
3. WHEN should these items be
selected?
(beginning, middle and end of the
year)

12. Step 3: Reflection Process
• Create situations which students must
think about their own thinking.
• Students who are aware of their learning
processes, are more likely to establish
goals for their education and are more
deeply engaged.
• Reflections are the heart and
soul of portfolio, but reflections
doesn’t just happen

13. Labeling of work
Best Work
Most Difficult
Most Creative
A Nightmare
First Draft—more to come

14. Reflection Stems
This piece shows I’ve met standard # ___
because…
This piece shows I really understand the
content because…
This piece showcases my ____ intelligence
because…

15. Mirror Page
Description of piece
Piece of Student Work
Reflection on piece

16. “A portfolio without reflections
is a notebook of stuff”