Describes the goals of and participant responses to a six-step Early Childhood Portfolio Assessment Preparation (ECPAP) Model that was implemented in two early childhood education programs to facilitate the use of portfolio student evaluation. Intended as a guide to supervisors who are training teachers in portfolio assessment, as well as early…

Describes a study of online instructors that investigated how they use instructional tools designed for the Web, including conferencing systems, online gradebooks, audio streaming, student portfolios, and usage statistics. Discusses advantages and disadvantages of online tools and includes recommendations for the development of online tools. (LRW)

Describes the use of monthly portfolio projects to track student progress and improve science performance in a 7th grade life science course. Students explain concepts they have learned, produce products to present what they have learned, and use the concepts to critique magazine articles, advertisements, or news stories. Provides an evaluation…

Focuses on the kind of assessment that takes place within a classroom context, and therefore looks at assessing, grading, or testing writing, since when educators talk about classroom assessment they talk of grades and tests, at times using all three terms interchangeably. Hopes to draw educators into new conversations about assessment and the…

Describes the process designed to enable adults studying part time to claim credit toward a degree for learning undertaken in the workplace. Shows how the criteria used to assess portfolios of evidence were negotiated with students. (SK)

Portfolios inform teachers and students of progress toward established goals. Offers tips for helping students create their own portfolios and suggests criteria for assessment and self-assessment. (MKR/SW)

Describes how one English teacher used experience as a professional writer to change how she approached writing instruction in a seventh-grade English class. Outlines a method centered on extensive revision and the submission of writing portfolios. (HB)

The use of portfolio assessment in special education is considered. Initially it is important to decide on types of work samples, who selects the samples, and how they will be evaluated. A list of 34 possible uses of portfolios and a 42-item bibliography on portfolio use are included. (SW)

Describes the use of portfolios in college-level physics courses. Includes sample student materials, student reactions to portfolios, and portfolio assessment scoring criteria. (MVL)

Discusses the theory behind portfolio assessment, and portfolios and student learning. Responds to three questions to address the growing interest in portfolios and the natural skepticism of teachers about them. (SR)

Advocates the use of portfolios for educational assessment of college developmental learners. Discusses recent development of portfolios, factors influencing their use, literacy-based portfolio assessment, sample contents, managing the portfolio, and portfolios as collaborative reflection. (SR)

Uses examples from preschool teachers' classroom experiences to present suggestions for improving portfolios as an assessment tool. Issues discussed include distinguishing work that shows a child's learning progress, types of portfolios, and collecting work with a particular purpose in various curricula. Argues that portfolios should be…

Describes how a teacher of an English-as-a-Second-Language conversation class used portfolios to have students document their progress in learning English via audio- and videotapes. (SR)

The ways that portfolio evidence of student competence in the writing processes is created and interpreted were studied in four classrooms during the preliminary trials of the California Learning Assessment System portfolios. Data from interviews with six students and two elementary school teachers are used to explore student portfolios and…

Describes the ways two second-grade teachers implement portfolio assessment in their classrooms. Emphasizes multiple purposes for evaluation. Suggests that portfolio use can have a direct influence on teachers' instructional practices and beliefs. (RS)