Describes introducing and constructing portfolios in a second-grade classroom. Discusses preparation, diagnosis, the collection and sorting process, goal setting, reflection, and student sharing. Shows how diagnostic reflective-learning portfolios help children become aware of their own learning strategies, construct and reflect on goals, and…

Under the 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments, all states must now include students with disabilities in statewide and districtwide educational assessments. So far, Kentucky is the only state with a comprehensive alternative portfolio-assessment program for students unable to participate in "regular" testing…

Describes portfolio development as it is carried out in one English-as-a-Second-Language classroom. This includes essays required in the complete portfolios, rationale for each essay, and arrangement of essays within the portfolio. Shows the process by which students develop their portfolios, including outline, rough draft, peer comments, and…

Describes the portfolio-assessment process in the Special Education Program at Georgia Southern University. The portfolio-assessment process allows preservice teachers the opportunity to demonstrate their professional growth throughout the course of their teacher-education program. It has also fostered a mentoring relationship between students and…

This article discusses how Georgia Southern University redesigned its special education teacher curriculum to reflect the core competencies identified by the Council for Exceptional Children, the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, and the National Collegiate Accreditation for Teacher Education. Portfolio assessment procedures were…

Examined issues around school-university collaborations. University liaisons collaborated with elementary teachers on portfolio implementation. Teachers helped design and present a portfolio inservice in a nearby district. Data from interviews, meetings, writing, observations, and journals produced four themes: (1) sharing power and control; (2)…

Del Schalock, Mark Schalock, and David Myton suggest that the education profession is stuck on an "input" teacher-assessment approach that fails to consider effects on student learning. They offer the Oregon Work Sampling Methodology as an exemplary alternative to portfolios and performance assessments. Although the Oregon WSM is a…

The predictive value for the development of competence of a portfolio as compared with instruments that were easier to administer was studied with 27 government management trainees in the Netherlands. Portfolios were found to be better predictors of workplace performance than were self-rating or peer-rating. (SLD)

Describes the processes in which judges, trying out an integrative approach to portfolio evaluation for the first time, engage as they construct and document their conclusions. The research agenda in which this research is situated is described. (SLD)

Reports a year-long study of middle school language arts students. Finds that average students who are instructed in the art of reflective analysis by way of the systematic use of reflective questions and reflective events do, in fact, over time become more aware of the increasingly more sophisticated challenges that writers face. (SR)

Examined tensions arising from the use of portfolios for inquiry into personal practice during preservice teacher professional development and as a means of evaluation in their licensure. Student and faculty interviews, portfolio meetings, and program review documents indicated that efforts to combine the dual purposes of portfolios did not always…

Examines how reflection has been discussed in teacher education, presenting data from a longitudinal study of 10 teacher apprentices that investigated the experience of becoming reflective through a portfolio process and identifying developmental elements of reflection. The study notes that student teachers consistently report little formal…

Surveyed preservice teachers, following their final portfolio conference, to determine their views on the efficacy of using portfolio evaluation. The portfolio process helped students gain self-confidence, better relationships with instructors, organizational skills, professional attitudes, job interviewing skills, knowledge about teaching, and a…

Describes the School Enrichment Model (SEM), a systematic set of strategies for increasing student effort, enjoyment, and performance and for integrating varied advanced learning experiences and higher-order thinking skills into existing curriculum or school organization patterns. SEM enhances three key school-improvement dimensions: the act of…

Describes the construction and evaluation of a Web-based learning portfolio of authentic assessment. Discusses the design of the portfolio database; its implementation in a course at National Taipei University of Technology (Taiwan); and student opinions about the impact on the learning process. (Author/LRW)