CHAPTER 5

PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT

OVERVIEW
Nowadays, portfolios are extremely popular and become louder than ever
before for higher standards and stricter testing. Many schools make portfolios – or at
least talk about them. What portfolios are then? Have you ever done a portfolio? Tell
me about this experience. Did you enjoy it? What elements did you include in your
portfolio? Are the materials placed in the portfolio required? Do they not go to art
school for students? Have they nothing to do with inventories? Moreover, if you all
need to get to university with good grades and test scores, why bother?
If you believe, then it is worth exploring portfolio assessments; if you think that
students at all levels are doing more than just testing; if you believe, teachers need
to do more than testing; if you believe that students should be more active in
learning; and, if you feel that catering for a broader range of students while
maintaining high standards is a good idea.

What to expect?

At the end of the chapter, the students can:

1. Describe the nature of portfolio through its meaning, characteristics and
purpose.
2. Differentiate the different types and elements of portfolio.
3. Apply the steps in developing a portfolio assessment.
4. Enumerate the advantages and disadvantages of portfolio assessment.

Meaning, Nature, and Characteristics of Student’s Portfolio

In education, a portfolio also known as student portfolio is a student creative
output that showcases his/her learning journey. Students are asked to collect, select,
and present various forms of evidence of their achievements based on the desired
learning outcomes. In other words, student portfolio is the compilation of students’
artifacts relative to his/her learning experiences, and other written outputs such as
reflections and personal essays. These collections highlight students’ strengths and
weaknesses in a certain course.
Artifacts may include the written work, videos, artwork, projects, journals, or
any item that will show evidence of learning. These artifacts give portfolio life and
meaning. Student reflection is the highlight in creating portfolios. The reflection
highlights how students learn overtime. Reflection provides students opportunities to
actively engage self-assessment process.
Besides, a student portfolio is a compendium of student’s academic work and
other forms of educational evidence assembled for the purpose of:
1. evaluating coursework quality, learning progress, and academic achievement;
2. determining whether students have met learning standards or other academic
requirements for courses, grade-level promotion, and graduation;
3. helping students reflect on their academic goals and progress as learners;
and
4. creating a lasting archive of academic work products, accomplishments, and
other documentation (The Glossary of Education Reform, 2016).

Eventually, it is important to note that student portfolio should represent a

collection of students’ best work or best efforts, students selected samples of work
experiences related to outcomes being assessed, and documents according to
growth and development toward mastering identified outcomes (Gabuyo, 2012).

Elements of Portfolio
A portfolio can be prepared by an individual student either at the direction of
his/her teacher or as uniquely devised by the student (Davis & Pennamperuma,
2005). Whatever type of portfolio a student is driven to do, its basic elements do not
differ.
A comprehensive portfolio includes the following good elements:
1. The Cover Letter. This element tells about the author of the portfolio and what
the portfolio shows about the author’s progress as a learner. It summarizes the
evidence of the student’s learning and progress.
2. Table of Contents. Shown in this element are the detailed contents in the
portfolio.
3. Entries. Entries in the student portfolio can either be core or optional. Core
entries are items the student have to include, while optional are entries of student
choice. The core elements provide a common base from which to make decisions
on assessment. The optional items permit each student to represent his or her
uniqueness.
4. Dates. Specific dates have to be included for all entries to facilitate evidence of
growth overtime.
5. Drafts. Drafts of oral, aural, and written products and revised versions have to be
included in the portfolio.
6. Reflections. It can appear in the different stages in the learning process.
Through reflections students can express their feelings regarding their progress
and or themselves as learners.

Portfolio Assessment

Portfolio assessment is an assessment form that children do together with

their teachers, and is an alternative to the classic classroom test. The portfolio
contains samples of the children/student work and shows growth over time.

Important keyword

 Reflection: By reflection on their own work student begin to identify the strengths
and weaknesses of their own work (self-assessment). The weaknesses then
become improvement goals. In portfolio assessment it is the quality that counts,
not the quantity.

 Learning objectives - Each portfolio entry needs to be assessed with reference to

its specific learning objectives or goals. Different schools may create different
forms of portfolios.

 Portfolio assessment is important because it measures the progress of a

student and examines the instructional process, not just the final product.

 Portfolio assessment can provide multiple levels of learning evidence and

demonstrate what a student knows and how he uses this knowledge.
  The contents of portfolios (artifacts /evidence) can include drawings, photos,
video or audio tapes, writing or other work samples, computer disks, and
copies of standardized or program-specific tests.

 Data sources can include parents, staff, and other community members who
know the participants or program, as well as the self-reflections of participants
themselves.

 Purposeful, systematic process of collecting and evaluating student products

to document progress toward the attainment of learning targets or show
evidence that a learning target has been achieved. Includes student
participation in the selection and student self-reflection. “A collection of
artifacts accompanied by a reflective narrative that not only helps the learner
to understand and extend learning, but invites the reader of the portfolio to
gain insight about learning and the learner (Porter & Cleland, 1995)

 Therefore a solid portfolio can truly assess a student's development.

Function of Portfolio assessment

 The function of a portfolio assessment is to measure progress of a particular
process over a specified length of time.
 Before beginning a portfolio, the student must be aware of the goals she is
trying to accomplish with this project (if not she will be confused as to what
artifacts to include).
 According to Sewell, Marczack and Horn, "If goals and criteria have been
clearly defined, the 'evidence' in the portfolio makes it relatively easy to
demonstrate that the individual or population has moved from a baseline level
of performance to achievement of particular goals.
 “A portfolio functions as a place to store materials so they are not forgotten
and so that the student can continuously reflect on her growth in that
particular subject area.

Why Use a Portfolio?

 Portfolios can enhance the assessment process by:

  revealing a range of skills and understandings of students’ supporting
instructional goals;
 reflect change and growth over a period of time;
 encourage student, teacher, and parent reflection; and
 provide for continuity in education from one year to the next.
 Instructors can use them for a variety of specific purposes, including:
 Encouraging self-directed learning.
 Enlarging the view of what is learned
 Fostering learning about learning
 Demonstrating progress toward identified outcomes
 Creating an intersection for instruction and assessment
 Providing a way for students to value themselves as learners
 Offering opportunities for peer-supported growth
 Portfolios can record both final products and students' ongoing thinking
reflections and decision-making processes

Characteristics of an Effective Portfolio

 Portfolio assessment is a multi-faceted process characterized by the following

recurrent qualities:
 It is continuous and ongoing, providing both formative (ongoing) and
summative (culminating) opportunities for monitoring students' progress
toward achieving essential outcomes.
 It is multidimensional, i.e reflecting a wide variety of artifacts and
processes reflecting various aspects of students' learning process.
 It provides for collaborative reflection, including ways for students to reflect
about their own thinking processes and metacognitive introspection as
they monitor their own comprehension, reflect upon their approaches to
problem-solving and decision-making, and observe their emerging
understanding of subjects and skills.

 Although approaches to portfolio development may differs, but most portfolios

have the following characteristics:
  They clearly reflect stated learner outcomes identified in the core or
essential curriculum that students are expected to study.
 They focus upon students' performance-based learning experiences as
well as their acquisition of key knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
 They contain samples of work that stretch over an entire marking period,
rather than single points in time.
 Clearly defined purpose and learning targets 
 Systematic and organized collection of student products
 Pre-established guidelines for what will be included
 Student selection of some works that will be included
 Student self-reflection and self-evaluation
 Progress documented with specific products and/or evaluations
 Portfolio conferences between students and teachers
 They contain works that represent a variety of different assessment tools.
 They contain a variety of work samples and evaluations of that work by the
student, peers, and teachers, possible even parents' reactions.

Purpose of Portfolio Assessment

1. Portfolio assessment develops awareness of own learning by the students.
2. Portfolio assessment caters to individuals in a heterogeneous class.
3. Portfolio assessment develops social skills. Student interacts with other students
in the development of their own portfolio.
4. Portfolio assessment promotes independent and active learners.
5. Portfolio assessment can improve motivation for learning thus achievement.
6. Portfolio assessment provides opportunity for student-teacher dialogue.

Difference between Portfolio Assessment & a Standard Classroom Test

1. Progress
1. Exams and portfolios measure different levels of student progress over
specific periods of time. Classroom Test - the student's performance is
determined by one class period on one day. Success on an exam depends on
how much a student studies and comprehends the material, Portfolio
measures a much wider time period, as students often include multiple drafts
 of essays or their body of work composed over the course of a semester.
Success of a portfolios focus on the overall learning progress a student
makes and the effort they put into the project.

A. Reflection

In a traditional exam, the student's ability to answer the questions

correctly is the only factor that can pass him/her. In portfolios - allow for direct
input from students. Portfolios often require a self-evaluation component, such
as a reflective essay, that lets students describe their overall experience in the
class and the portfolio creation process. It lets students practice critical
thinking, letting them decide how well the portfolio measures up to course
goals and standards.

B. Degree of Student Ownership

 Test - Every student takes the same test and is judged according to
correct and incorrect answers, traditional exams let them play a very small
role in their evaluation.
 In portfolio evaluation - both students and teachers involved in the
process. Portfolios let students take ownership of their evaluation by
showcasing their struggles and accomplishments and enabling
communication with the teacher in a way traditional exams don't allow for.

C. Grading Teachers

 Teachers ultimately use two different grading methods to score tests and
portfolios.

 Traditional exams are more convenient to grade overall, as they

involve marking incorrect answers and calculating a numerical grade.
 Portfolios require teachers to establish their own specific grading
criteria. Even after they determine this grading scale, it still may be
hard to maintain objectivity, since the students' reflections and
perspectives are part of the evaluation. Grading portfolios is also much
more time consuming; teachers must not only read the students' work,
but write comments explaining and justifying their evaluation.
Advantages of Using Portfolio Assessment

 Allows the evaluators to see the student each unique with its own
characteristics, needs, & strengths.
 Serves as a cross-section lens, providing a basis for future analysis and
planning. By viewing the total pattern of the students’ development, one can
identify areas of strengths and weaknesses, and barriers to success.
 Serves as a concrete vehicle for communication, providing ongoing
communication or exchanges of information among those involved.
 Promotes a shift in ownership; student can take an active role in examining
where they have been and where they want to go.
 Portfolio assessment offers the possibility of addressing shortcomings of
traditional assessment. It offers the possibility of assessing the more complex
and important aspects of an area or topic.
 Covers a broad scope of knowledge and information, from many different
people who know the program or person in different contexts ( eg.,
participants, parents, teachers or staff, peers, or community leaders).

Disadvantages of Using Portfolio Assessment

 May be seen as less reliable or fair than more quantitative evaluations such
as test scores.
 Scoring difficulties may lead to low reliability
 Teacher training needed
 Time-consuming to develop criteria, score and meet students
 Students may not make good selections of which of which material to include
 Sampling of student products may lead to weak generalization
 Parents find the portfolio difficult to understand
 Can be very time consuming for teachers or program staff to organize and
evaluate the contents, especially if portfolios have to be done in addition to
traditional testing and grading.
 Having to develop your own individualized criteria can be difficult or unfamiliar
at first. If goals and criteria are not clear, the portfolio can be just a
miscellaneous collection of artifacts that don't show patterns of growth or
 achievement. Like any other form of qualitative data, data from portfolio
assessments can be difficult to analyze or aggregate to show change.

Developing a Portfolio Assessment

There are suggested steps in developing a portfolio assessment for teachers
and students. It is important to clarify the purpose of the portfolio. Clarifying the
purpose of students’ portfolio is the first step to conceptualize the appropriate criteria
as basis of assessment. Teachers and students should be clarified of the purposes
of various types portfolio. Teachers must ascertain the rationale of having students’
portfolio in order to have clear directions of what and how to assess students’ output.
Teachers should also empower students to collect and select what to include
in their portfolio. Portfolios can contain a range of items – plans such as narrative
reports, personal essays, reflections, quizzes, and other written works. Teachers
should cascade to students what are the things to be included in their portfolio.
However, it is highly encouraged to allow also the students to add evidences that
they think of great help to showcase their learning progress and achievement.
In addition, criteria of scoring must be designed and shared to students at the
start of the preparation of student portfolio. Teachers must develop a rubric as a
guide of students in accomplishing the portfolio and as a reference of teachers in
rating the output of students. This is to minimize subjectivity and bias in scoring.
Moreover, it is equally important to provide students models of student
portfolio that may serve not only as their guide but also an inspiration for them to
exceed from the expectations. Remember that portfolio is the compendium of
student’s weaknesses and strengths and highlights how an individual student makes
learning and development happen. As a teacher, you must provide students the
motivation to discover their full potential.
Lastly, students will really be asking for the processes of portfolio preparation
as to its format and submission date. Thus, it is a must to provide students clear
instructions of what to include. Format should be given for the purpose of uniformity
and organization and timetable should be agreed by teacher and students.
Balagtas et al. (2019) suggest the portfolio development process as shown in
the next figure.
1. Set Goals
This is considered the foremost step in designing a student portfolio. Students
must first identify the purpose of developing their portfolio. This goals are
important to be clearly defined since they serve as the guide of students of what
to include and how to arrange the elements of the portfolio. Teachers should
guide students in identifying their goals. Goals should be anchored in the desired
learning outcomes defined by the respective courses. It is also encourage that
parents should be involved in students’ goal setting.

2. Collect
After the goals are clearly defined, in this stage students now gather evidence of
their learning achievement. Students should collect all possible entries to be
included in the portfolio. It is encourage that students should be given a
temporary container where they can keep all the retained documents of their daily
activities.

3. Select
In this stage, students review all the collected possible entries from their
designated temporary containers. Students should sort all the collected entries
and assess which collections are appropriate to be included on the basis of the
pre-defined goals.
 Selection of entries may depend on course requirements set by teachers, choice
of parents based on their expectations and personal choice of students based on
how he/she personally interpret his/her learning progress.

4. Organize
After students select the entries for their portfolio, they can start organizing its
content. One of the techniques to organize the entries is to classify them by
category, by types, by nature, etc. The arrangement of entries could really
depend on the personal style of students. It is encourage to develop students’
creativity and resources during this stage. It is ideal in this stage to provide
Students Avenue to decide what to add, modify, or remove entries any time. The
suggested materials to be used in making portfolio are clear book, album, and
accordion bag with dividers since they are flexible for any changes.

5. Reflect
Reflection of one’s learning progress gives life and essence to the portfolio. It is
very important that students reflect on their selected evidence of academic
achievement in order for them to contemplate to their strengths and weaknesses.
This stage allows students to assess the meaningfulness of their learning
experiences. Also, this stage allows students to reflect on the stories beyond
numbers and words. Some of the ways to make reflections are waiting a
reflective journals and personal essays.

6. Evaluate
This stage highlights the judgment of the achievement of students based on the
quality of presentation of evidence of their learning process. In evaluation stage,
students, their peers, teachers and their parents may contribute in rating their
learning progress. Often pre-determined rubrics are used in rating students’
portfolio for the purpose of objectivity and parity. Evaluation stage can be applied
during the process or upon submission.

7. Confer
This stage allows teachers to communicate with the students and/or their parents
the results/outcomes of portfolio assessment that would explain or describe
 students’ performance and progress of learning. This stage highlights the
moment of congratulating students for their academic accomplishment, and
provides them diagnostic feedbacks.

8. Exhibit
This stage is the celebration of learning. Students are given a chance to
present/exhibit their portfolio in various means. Exhibit can be done through
online platforms. Exhibit can also be done through an open-house portfolio
exhibit inviting the teachers, peers, parents and other stakeholders. Awarding of
best portfolio and other special awards can be done in this stage.

Types of Portfolio
There are many different types of portfolios. Each type can serve one or more
specific purposes as part of an overall school or classroom assessment program.
The following is a list of the types most often cited in the literature: documentation
portfolio, process portfolio and showcase portfolio.
1. The Documentation Portfolio (“working" portfolio)
Specifically, this approach involves a collection of work over time showing growth
and improvement reflecting students' learning of identified outcomes. The
documentation portfolio can include everything from brainstorming activities to
drafts to finished products. The collection becomes meaningful when specific
items are selected out to focus on particular educational experiences or goals. It
can include the best and weakest of student work.
2. Process Portfolio
This approach documents all facets or phases of the learning process. They are
particularly useful in documenting students' overall learning process. It can show
how students integrate specific knowledge or skills and progress towards both
basic and advanced mastery. The process portfolio emphasizes students'
reflection upon their learning process, including the use of reflective journals,
think logs, and related forms of metacognitive processing.
3. Showcase Portfolio
It is best used for summative evaluation of students' mastery of key curriculum
outcomes. It should include students' very best work, determined through a
combination of student and teacher selection. Only completed work should be
 included. This type of portfolio is especially compatible with audio-visual artifact
development, including photographs, videotapes, and electronic records of
students' completed work. The showcase portfolio should also include written
analysis and reflections by the student upon the decision-making process used to
determine which works are included.

Phases of Portfolio Development

1. Organization and Planning
 This initial phase of portfolio development entails decision-making on the part
of students and teachers.
 By exploring essential questions at the beginning of the process, students can
fully understand the purpose of the portfolio and its status as a means of
monitoring and evaluating their own progress.
 Key questions for the teacher and the student must include:
 How do I select times, materials, etc. to reflect what I am learning in this
class?
 How do I organize and present the items, materials, etc. that I have collected?
 How will portfolios be maintained and stored?
2. Collection
 This process involves the collection of meaningful artifact and products
reflecting students' educational experiences and goals.
 Decisions must be made at this phase about the context and contents of the
portfolio based upon the intent and purposes identified for it.
 The selection and collection of artifact and products should be based upon a
variety of factors that can include:
 Particular subject matter;
 A learning process; or special projects, themes, and/or unites.
 All selections included in the collection should clearly reflect the criteria
and standards identified for evaluation.
3. Reflection
 Wherever possible, there should be evidence of students' metacognitive
reflections upon the learning process and their monitoring of their evolving
comprehension of key knowledge and skills.
  These reflections can take the form of learning logs, reflective journals, and
other forms of reflections upon their experiences, the thinking processes they
have used, and the habits of mind they employed at given points in time and
across time periods.
 In addition, teacher and/or parent reflections upon the products, processes,
and thinking articulated in the portfolio should also be included wherever
appropriate.

How Can Portfolios Be Evaluated?

Portfolios offer a way of assessing student learning that is different than
traditional methods. Portfolio assessment provides the teacher and students an
opportunity to observe students in a broader context: taking risks, developing
creative solutions, and learning to make judgments about their own performances
(Paulson, Paulson and Meyer, 1991).
Teachers normally have multiple scoring strategies to evaluate:
 Thoughtfulness (including evidence of students' monitoring of their own
comprehension, metacognitive reflection, and productive habits of mind).
 Growth and development in relationship to key curriculum expectancies and
indicators.
 Understanding and application of key processes.
 Completeness, correctness, and appropriateness of products and processes
presented in the portfolio.
 Diversity of entries (e.g., use of multiple formats to demonstrate achievement
of designated performance standards).

Summary
Portfolio is a systematic process and purposeful collection of student work to
document the student learning progress, efforts, and achievement towards the
attainment of learning outcomes.
A portfolio assessment is a form of authentic assessment. It is a purposeful
collection of student work that exhibits the student's efforts, progress and
achievements in one or more areas. It also provides samples of the student's
work which show growth over time.
 In general, phases of portfolio development include organization and
planning, collection, and reflection.
Portfolio assessment allows both the teacher and students the opportunity to
observe students in a broader context.
Most literatures categorize portfolio as documentation, process or showcase.

Enrichment
A. Watch the following videos for additional information on portfolio assessment and
its development.
1. [Link]
2. [Link]
3. [Link]
4. [Link]
5. [Link]
B. For creating an electronic portfolio, you may watch the herein videos or visit the
given sites:
1. [Link]
2. [Link]
3. [Link]
HYiIBdEYABABGgJ0bQ&ae=2&sig=AOD64_3qH-
AzyfWMV_yq3OyPF5EHHyAsnw&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwid0IaP6pnwAh
UVxIsBHaJ6D1sQ0Qx6BAgDEAE
4. [Link]
HYiIBdEYABAAGgJ0bQ&ae=2&sig=AOD64_1d2JzZfQYMiDrBG2_oxKiYu
BIjOQ&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwid0IaP6pnwAhUVxIsBHaJ6D1sQ0Qx6BAg
CEAE
5. [Link]
and-websites
6. [Link]
HYiIBdEYABADGgJ0bQ&ae=2&sig=AOD64_3pWcrPrlagkT7pvPRKCLLOf
fstRg&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwid0IaP6pnwAhUVxIsBHaJ6D1sQ0Qx6BAg
FEAE
7. [Link]
guymon
Assessment
Encircle the letter that corresponds to your answer.
1. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about portfolio assessment?
a. Involves students in its own assessment.
b. Encourages collaborative process of determining students’ success
c. Measures students learning progress at one time
d. Allows students to reflect from his/her learning progress.
2. Which of the following statement BEST describes portfolio assessment?
a. Encourages competition among students
b. Encourages collaboration among students
c. Encourages responsibility of one’s learning progress
d. None of the above
3. Employing portfolio assessment in the classroom allows students to be
responsible with their own learning progress. This is because ______.
a. It tests what is really happening in the classroom
b. It offers multiple indicators of students’ progress
c. It gives the students the accountability of their own learning
d. It offers opportunities for students to document reflections of their learning.
4. The content of a portfolio is largely based on _____.
a. the goal and purpose of the portfolio
b. the characteristics of the student evaluated
c. the length of the portfolio
d. discretion of students
5. Teacher Anesa asks students to select and organize their written works in a
manner where it tells a story of how students’ learning progresses over time.
Which of the following type of portfolio should the students do?
a. Showcase Portfolio
b. Working Portfolio
c. Evaluation Portfolio
d. Any type that depends on the style of students.
References
Balansag, C.L. (2014). Essential Elements of Portfolio. Retrieved from
[Link]
Cajigal, R. and Mantuano, M. L. (2014). Assessment of Learning 2. Quezon City:
Adriana Publishing Co., Inc.
David et al. (2020). Assessment in Learning 2. Manila: Rex Book Store.
Davis, Margery & Ponnamperuma, Gominda. (2005). Portfolio Assessment. Journal
of veterinary medical education. 32. 279-84. doi: 10.3138/jvme.32.3.279.
[Link]
De Guzman, E. and Adamos, J. (2015). Assessment of Learning 2. Quezon City:
Adriana Publishing Co., Inc
Gabuyo, Y. A. (2012). Assessment of Learning II. Manila: REX Bookstore.
The Glossary of Education Reform (2016). Portfolio. Retrieved from
[Link]
%20a,requirements%20for%20courses%2C%20grade%2Dlevel
University of Hawaii (2021). Using Portfolio in Program Assessment. Retrieved from
[Link]
assessment/