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Portfolio assessment is an alternative to more traditional forms of final
assessment. It requires students to hand in several pieces of writing that
are evaluated by the course instructor and at least one outside reader,
including one three-page essay that evaluates and documents students development
as a writer (and reader) . Several instructors have tried this procedure
over the past couple of years and will continue using it. Their experience
has been that it offers several advantages to final exams.
- It places a priority on the drafting process, since students may turn in
drafts beyond the draft that was originally graded.
- It builds the metacognitive skills necessary to evaluate one's own work.
- It makes the instructor as much a coach as a grader, since the teacher
helps the student submit the best possible portfolio to be graded by another
instructor. The Writing Center becomes a more attractive place to visit.
- Students are encouraged to take more responsibility for their development
over time.
- Because instructors have a norming session for portfolio assessment and
because they have a chance to see another instructor's assignments and
portfolios, they learn more about how others are teaching and can receive a
valuable perspective on their own teaching.
Over the past two years, instructors who have tried portfolio assessment have
developed a system of scoring that does not take a significantly greater amount
of time at the end of the semester.
To find out more about portfolio assessment, click on the following links:
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