Assessment How-to

Using Portfolios in Program Assessment

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?

A portfolio is a systematic collection of student work, representing 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.

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 body of work demonstrates the accomplishments of the student, draws attention to why the student selected the particular examples, or reveals change in knowledge/ability/attitude.

2. Portfolios as a data-collection method for assessment

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 demonstrate and provide products of student learning within a course, within a single term.	Program portfolios draw from several classes, extracurricular activities, internships, and other experiential learning related to the program. Program portfolios can serve the same purpose as an exit exam: provide evidence on 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.	Multiple faculty members, not the instructor, score the portfolio.
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

Advantages of a portfolio

Enables faculty to assess a set of complex tasks, with examples of different types of student work, including interdisciplinary learning and capabilities.
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. in the process of compiling the portfolio, 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.
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

Decide the purpose of the portfolio. Decide how the results of a portfolio evaluation will be used to inform either the course or program.
Identify the learning outcomes the portfolio will address.
Decide what students will include in their portfolio. Portfolios can contain a range of items, from plans, reports, checklists, self-assessments, references from employers or supervisors, to tapes and video clips. Students typically include work completed toward the end of the course/program in a showcase portfolio. In a developmental portfolio, students typically include work completed early and late in the course/program so that development can be judged.

Important: Ensure that the student items are aligned with the outcomes the portfolio will address. Modifications to activities or outcomes for courses, programs, or the institution may be needed.

Identify or develop the scoring criteria (e.g., a rubric) to judge the quality portfolio.
Include the scoring rubric with the instructions given to students (#6 below) .
Establish standards of performance and examples: high, medium, low; successful, unsuccessful; outstanding, acceptable, marginal, unacceptable.
Create student instructions that specify how students collect, select, reflect, format, and submit.

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.

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 – Ask students to discuss each piece of evidence either as an introduction to the sample or as a reflective essay. Ask students to write a brief introduction to the portfolio.
Format –Tell students the format requirements (e.g., type of binder, font and style guide requirements).
Submit – Give submission and pickup dates.

Score the portfolios using the scoring criteria. Use the examples of the standards of performance to ensure consistency across scoring sessions and among readers.
Share the results and use them to improve the course or program.

5. Questions to consider before adopting a portfolio requirement

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? [see also previous question]
When and how will students be told about the requirement, including what materials they need to collect or to produce for it?
Are there 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)

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

Truman State University: http://assessment.truman.edu/components/portfolio/

Penn State: http://portfolio.psu.edu/about

Alverno College: http://ddp.alverno.edu/

University of Denver: https://portfolio.du.edu/pc/index

University of Nebraska Lincoln: http://www.courseportfolio.org/peer/pages/index.jsp?what=rootMenuD&rootMenuId=6

8. Electronic portfolio software

Epsilen Free ePortfolios (www.episilen.com). “Basic ePortfolio accounts are free for all registered students and faculty of U.S. colleges and universities. An Epsilen ePortfolio can be created in minutes and be used throughout one’s academic career, during professional life, and even into retirement.”

Laulima Open Source Portfolio. Laulima has an Open Source Portfolio (OSP) “tool” option. UHM is investigating “turning on” the OSP tool for Laulima users.

Comparison of software. Comparison of e-portfolio software by EduTools (whose goal is to provide independent, unbiased review of educational technology; funded by the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications [WCET]). Click on “PRODUCT LIST” to compare.

Sources Consulted:
http://www.skidmore.edu/administration/assessment/H_portfolios.htm
Mary Allen – University of Hawaii at Manoa Spring 2008 Assessment Workshops
http://www.users.muohio.edu/shermalw/eric_digests/ed447725.pdf
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.

updated 1/12/2009