This manual is a product of the portfolio assessment project, a 3-year project on the use of portfolios as an assessment measure in elementary through higher education foreign language classrooms. Portfolio assessment is the systematic, longitudinal collection of student work created in response to specific, known instructional objectives and…

The objectives of this paper are: to briefly describe how teaching portfolios, in tandem with the Teaching/Learning Framework (Sprinthall & Thies-Sprinthall, 1983) can be employed as a developmental intervention to promote stage growth in teacher candidates; to report developmental stage change (moral judgment/principled thinking) results from…

Assessment is more than simply ascribing an 'A' or a 'B' to a particular student achievement. In an era of state-mandated proficiencies and alternative assessment strategies, educators need practical ideas they can use to meaningfully assess their students' learning and their own practice. This issue of "ENC Focus" centers on the topic…

This book explains how California schools, working with the "Education for the Future" initiative, have integrated technology and data-based decision making into their school improvement efforts. The book is a guide to improving school performance by constructing a school portfolio. The chapters are: (1) "Introduction: The Need for…

This book presents 16 papers on assessment in higher education grouped into four sections on: first, systems approaches to assessment; second, the effectiveness of innovative assessment; third, assessing practice; and fourth, autonomous assessment. The included papers are: (1) "Institutional Strategies for Assessment" (Sally Brown); (2)…

The progress school districts throughout New Jersey made in implementing a system of portfolio assessment and the factors that promoted or prohibited the implementation of this system were studied. In all, 262 teachers and 109 administrators completed and returned questionnaires on portfolio assessment. Findings indicate that teachers and…

This study evaluates student attitudes about the use of portfolios in an English composition course. During the course of a semester, students in an English 101 course at Central Arizona College compile a portfolio of their compositions. Included in the portfolio is a rewrite of the first assigned paper (P-1). The P-1 paper was due the second week…

Evaluated whole-literacy curriculum's effects on literacy achievement among native Hawaiian students in grades K-6. Found that teachers entered curriculum project with proficiency in some areas of implementation, such as classroom organization, but required support in other areas, such as portfolio assessment. Also found that full implementation…

Describes how 20 teachers enrolled in a three-week summer course on literacy assessment, through their own experiences and work in the course, internalized the theory that when students are given the opportunity to evaluate themselves, their learning is more meaningful and more permanent, their work demonstrates real commitment, and they value…

Describes a middle school language arts teacher's bulletin board portfolio that includes snapshots of students, quotes, reflections, and more to show how, through artifacts and reflections and other ways of bringing their total selves to school, students' evaluations of themselves and of each other became more whole. (SR)

Describes how one group of beginning preservice teachers constructed meaning about portfolios during an introductory course in the teacher education programs. Surveys of students who had and had not participated in a portfolio-like intervention indicated that intervention students had significantly increased knowledge and understanding of the…

Portfolios let teachers reflect on their practice while showing others what happens in their classrooms. The article examines the benefits of professional portfolios and describes how to create one (how to begin, what to highlight, what to include, how to organize and revise, and how to reflect on the contents). (SM)

Offers an annotated bibliography concerning practical and theoretical considerations for two types of alternative assessment in community colleges and higher education: portfolios and capstone courses. Portfolios provide representative samples of student work and capstone courses review core concepts in a field. Cites 10 sources. (AUTH/NB)

This article presents four strategies for identifying young gifted children: recognize the limits of testing; network with parents; consider new ways of thinking about and observing giftedness, including incorporating different learning styles in teaching; and use portfolios to collect actual samples of children's work. Advantages of portfolio…

Discusses the benefits of portfolio assessment to counselor education programs. Provides a definition of portfolio and outlines a portfolio approach in counselor education. Asserts that portfolio assessment relies on performance in measuring learning outcomes. Gives an example of portfolio content, along with strategies for evaluating student…