The use of portfolios and rubrics in assessment developed in part as a reaction to limitations of standardized tests for student evaluation. Portfolios relate directly to what students are learning, but there are many problems in evaluating their contents. These center on: (1) time involved in scoring; (2) lack of validity statistics; (3) relative…

The use of portfolios is a rather recent innovation in teaching the language arts. A characteristic of the portfolio process is that students are led to notice their own progress through the work included in the portfolio. Many educators welcome the portfolio process because they recognize that standardized tests do not tell enough about what…

The two articles in this special section discuss the use of portfolios in large-scale assessment. Both describe pilot studies of portfolio assessment, pointing out pitfalls and advantages. If portfolios are to realize their potential in assessment and instructional improvement, teachers, students, and the public must receive better information…

The two articles in this special section, combined with two previous articles, discuss the use of portfolios in large-scale assessment. Ten years ago, there was great interest in portfolio assessment in state testing programs, but no large-scale program relies on portfolios at the present time. These articles continue to consider their uses. (SLD)

Achieving a fair and objective evaluation of teacher performance is not easy. Student test results have been used to assess teacher performance, but this approach has many weaknesses, especially because students differ from school to school and standardized tests are open to questions about their fairness. Criterion-referenced tests have been…

Portfolios have gained wide acceptance as a learning and assessment tool. Yet, little research has been reported on the practices of teachers who are actually using portfolios within their classrooms and how those practices are moderated by contextual variables. This research examined the instructional, learning, and assessment roles of student…

Presents findings of a year-long study of a language arts portfolio-assessment system in a California middle school in which an external evaluation committee applied a rubric to student portfolios from three teachers' classes. Discusses reasons the school board chose not to adopt the portfolio system. Contains over 60 references. (SLD)

This paper traces the origins of the portfolio movement, examines the treatment of portfolios in texts and other writings on classroom assessment, and poses several questions about the use of portfolios in classrooms. Interest in portfolios as assessment devices first emerged in the literature in the field of composition and writing, but interest…

The impact of the New Standards Project English language arts Field Trial Portfolio on curriculum and classroom portfolio assessment practice was studied in the 10th-grade classrooms of two experienced teachers. Case studies conducted over the school year illustrate ways in which teachers are mediators of standards and reveal problems teachers…

This guide shows how to make assessment authentic and meaningful in chapters that outline the "hows" and "whys" of assessment. In addition to suggestions for making assessment enriching and informative, the book includes a CD-ROM that contains reproducible forms. The chapters are: (1) "Trust and Risk"; (2) "Instruments: Assessment Drives…

The Work Sampling System is a performance assessment system that is used in preschool through fifth grade to document and assess children's skills, knowledge, behavior, and accomplishments across curriculum areas. This teacher's manual explains the use of the Work Sampling System in the following chapters: (1) "Introducing the Work Sampling…

Many changes have occurred in techniques used to appraise student achievement in social studies, and these new approaches may put teachers in a better position to notice the progress of individual students and then plan for sequential learning. Some of the deficiencies of traditionally used standardized tests have been overcome through the use of…

This report describes a program that was implemented to improve student assessment through the use of portfolios. The targeted population consisted of a first and third grade classroom in a suburb of a large Midwestern metropolitan area. The problems related to assessment were documented by state mandated test scores, teacher determined grades,…

The Performance Assessment System (PAS) is a portfolio-assessment mechanism used to evaluate beginning teacher performance as a function of the teacher's approach and effectiveness at increasing student learning. The development, scoring, and use of the PAS are described. (SLD)

Portfolios can demonstrate student mastery of material and their work with concepts and content, as well as their ability to link material with other knowledge. Portfolios can closely relate what students learn to what teachers believe they teach. The decision to use portfolios requires planning, professional development, decision making, and a…