Question

1) How would you go about setting up a portfolio system to assess your studentsʹ literacy development?

Answer 1

• First a goal needs to be set, or purpose, for the portfolio. The goal should be tied to how I plan to use the portfolio. The goal could range from student improvement over a long period of time or a mastery of specific set of skills.
• Then grading the portfolio and what method to use.If, I am looking for an overall mastery of skills, Iwill want to grade the work collected. The most efficient way to grade a portfolio is through a rating scale. If I'm looking for specific skills, I might begin with a checklist. That checklist will ensure that all necessary pieces are included.
• For example, that as a teacher of writing, I'm looking for examples within the student portfolios that show each writing mode covered during my course. Each piece then is determined to be correct, complete, and comprehensive based on a scale of 1-4. The three scores are averaged giving each piece an overall score. I then average all the scores to give a grade for the entire portfolio.
• Finally, student involvement is very important in the portfolio process. It is vital that students also understand the purpose of the portfolio, how it will be used to evaluate their work, and how grades for it will be determined. I need to make sure students are given a checklist of what is expected in the portfolio before they begin submitting work. I need to explain the type of evaluation it is, so students clearly understand what is expected in terms of work product.
• Portfolios show the cumulative efforts and learning of a particular student over time. They offer valuable data about student improvement and skill mastery. The process needs to be kept simple in order to discover valuable evaluation of the students performance.