1. In Search of Authentic Assessment:
Standardized Tests
vs.
Portfolios
By
Tony Galle

2. Assessment vs. Evaluation
From Understanding by Design, by
Wiggins & McTighe (2005)
“…we must be able to state with clarity what
the student should understand and be able to
do ...” (p.14)

3. Assessment vs. Evaluation
From Understanding by Design, by Wiggins &
McTighe (2005, p. 6)
Assessment: “the giving and using of feedback against
standards to enable improvement and the meeting of goals”
Evaluation: “more summative and credential-related.”

4. Standardized Tests
Seek to answer:
What is the “quality of instruction and the effectiveness
of the teaching and administrative staff?”
(Tanner, 2010, p. 31)

5. Standardized Tests
Still in use because they:
“Create clear expectations for schools and students as
well as collect precise information about
performance”
(Weller, 2002, Testing Affects on Education section, para. 1).

6. Opponents of Testing
“Tests do not measure what teachers taught to students but
‘rather what those students brought to schools’’ (Sahlberg, 2010 as
cited in Popham 2007, p. 167)” (p. 51)
“Tend to measure the temporary acquisition of facts and skills,
including the skill of test-taking itself...” (Syverson, 2009, p. 2).
Tests do not honor different abilities or learning styles (Gardner,
1998 and Lopez & Schroeder, 2008).

7. Portfolios
As defined by Tuttle (2007)
“purposefully limited collection of student
selected work over time that documents
progress toward meeting the standards”
(E-portfolios are the Wave of the Future section, para. 1).

8. Portfolio Features
“the evidence of student learning may be
in diverse formats such as Web pages,
movies, visuals, audio recordings, and
text”
(Tuttle, 2007, Getting Started section, para. 1).

9. Portfolio Features
“should reflect the actual day-to-day
learning activities of students”
Should be “multidimensional” and
“show progress, and achievements over
a period of time.”
(Birgin and Baki, 2007, p. 80)

10. Portfolio Benefits
Students have “more autonomy to
choose their best work to be graded.”
Demonstrate “improvement...through
conferencing.”
(Lam & Lee, 2009, p. 57)

11. Benefits for the Future
“Through creating and maintaining digital
portfolios…, students are engaged in a
process of synthesizing and presenting
their academic work and growth in an
increasingly professional manner”
(Cramer, 2009, para. 2).

12. References
Birgin, O. and Baki, A. (September 2007). The use of portfolio to assess student’s performance. Journal of turkish science, 4(2). Retrieved from
http://www.eric.ed.gov.ezproxy.uvm.edu/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/43/45/d0.pdf
Lam, R. and Lee, I. (April 2009). Balancing the dual functions of portfolio assessment. ELT Journal 64(1). Retrieved from http://eltj.oxfordjournals
.org.ezproxy.uvm.edu/cgi/reprint/64/1/54. doi:10.1093/elt/ccp024.
Lopez, D, and Schroeder L. (2008). Designing strategies that meet the variety of learning styles of students. (Masters dissertation, Saint Xavier
University, 2008). Retrieved from
http://www.eric.ed.gov.ezproxy.uvm.edu/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/3d/5b/d1.pdf
Sahlberg, P. (citing Popham). (February 2010). Rethinking accountability in a knowledge society. Journal of Educational Change, 11(1), 45-61.
doi:10.1007/s10833-008-9098-2
Syverson, M. (Spring 2009). Social justice and evidence-based assessment with the learning record. Forum on public policy online. Retrieved from
http://forumonpublicpolicy.com.ezproxy.uvm.edu/spring09papers/archivespr09/syverson.pdf
Tanner, J. (February 2010) Incomplete measures. The School Administrator, 67(2). 31-33.
Tuttle, H. (February 2007). Digital-age assessment. Technology & Learning, 27 (7), 22. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com.ezproxy.uvm.
edu/article/6946
Unknown. (Produced for Edutopia by State of the Art). (December 1, 1997). Big thinkers: Howard Gardner on multiple intelligences. Edutopia.
Video retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/howard-gardner-interview#graph1
Weller, N. (March 2002). All children tested, but many left behind. Policy Perspective, 1021. Retrieved from
http://www.cascadepolicy.org.ezproxy.uvm.edu/pdf/edref/P_1021.htm).
Wiggins, G, and McTighe, J. (2005) Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.