The use of a portfolio as a source of information about a student's attitudes, level of development, and growth over time can be a collaborative effort between the child and teacher and can increase parents' awareness of their child's abilities and needs. Selecting materials for the portfolio and different ways to use the portfolio are discussed.…

Presents a portfolio assessment model that encourages teachers' professional growth while helping them evaluate their subject-matter knowledge; intellectual and problem-solving abilities; pedagogical skills; curriculum knowledge, insight, and skill; knowledge of learners and learning; and attitudes and dispositions. States that when teachers…

Physical educators can enhance students' motivation to learn by collecting portfolios of items that reflect students' skills, understandings, social behaviors, and values. The article explains characteristics of portfolio assessment, discussing how to develop and evaluate portfolios. Brief descriptions of methods and portfolio items, illustrated…

Presents preliminary findings from a survey of portfolio practice in selected elementary schools across the United States. Suggests that portfolio assessment has rapidly become widespread in many schools. Raises concerns about the movement and offers suggestions for how it can realize its promises. (SR)

Discusses "grade inflation," and the pressure on instructors to "play grade roll politics to save their own professional hides." Argues that the grade deflation movement works at cross purposes with its goal of elevating academic standards, and that it is at odds with composition theory and its process pedagogy. Suggests…

Discusses how teachers can use the process of deciding what students should put in their assessment portfolio to help students develop reasonable goals and criteria for their work, and make critical self-reflection a positive process. Describes young children's understanding of evaluation processes and provides suggestions for helping children…

Presents findings of a year-long study of a language arts portfolio-assessment system in a California middle school in which an external evaluation committee applied a rubric to student portfolios from three teachers' classes. Discusses reasons the school board chose not to adopt the portfolio system. Contains over 60 references. (SLD)

Explores numerous procedures to evaluate a pupil's reading achievement. Discusses different evaluation methods including criterion-referenced tests; contextualism in reading; discussions in the reading curriculum; conferences with pupils; and using portfolios. Concludes that the best objectives, learning opportunities, appraisal procedures, and an…

Presents a process for using portfolio assessment to encourage critical thinking and decision making by students. Four specific types of levels of portfolios are described: the everything portfolio (or development portfolio), the product portfolio, the showcase portfolio (or exemplary portfolio), and the objective portfolio. (Author/CR)

Describes how the implementation of a professional portfolio requirement and subsequent reviews by faculty members facilitated student, faculty, and program development within one college of education. Data from interviews, surveys, documents, and field observations indicated that portfolios helped students develop reflective skills and build…

Offers a discussion, in the form of a portfolio, of how the author helps student teachers reflect on their teaching through learning portfolios including artifacts on the culture of teaching, pedagogical insights, big risks and monumental leaps, and failures. Notes that these portfolios often surprise and instruct the author about students'…

Used interviews and qualitative methods to examine the rhetorical difficulties that four teachers experienced in applying for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification. Results found that the teachers had difficulty representing their knowledge about practice in writing. The most successful candidates were able to…

Points out areas in which aspects of assessment practice remain resistant to change: (1) evaluation of student achievement; (2) appropriate application of assessment innovation; and (3) preparation of educators in educational assessment. (SLD)

Describes a creative writing class in which students used hypertext to develop their writing portfolios. Suggests that, much like "Kansas Dorothy" who ventured into Oz, a "tornado" carried these students and their teacher from the safe Paperland to the yellow chip road of electronic portfolios. Notes that students' portfolios…

Two groups of student teachers, one school-based and one university-based, were introduced to portfolio construction. School-based students received more guidance in and time for portfolio construction. Surveys and interviews indicated that the extra time and guidance helped school-based students, who benefited more from portfolios than…