Portfolio Assessment
A somewhat newer approach of evaluation is the writing portfolio. This approach underscores writing as a process, a meaningful communicative act, and a skill worthy of emphasis in the foreign language curriculum.
Some characteristics important to any type of portfolio assignment are:
- Repeated submissions over time: students submit one or two writing samples each week, each month, or as the course allows.
- Student selection of "representative sampling": students have latitude in which draft or assignment they submit, within teacher-established guidelines.
- Feedback from multiple sources: Students may be asked to include feedback from a variety of sources, such as self-editing checklists, peer-editing comments, and/or comments from the instructor.
- Focus on process, growth, active analysis: Asking students to revise a written assignment helps them develop their writing skills and engages them in active analysis of their writing. Over the course of the semester, by comparing their very first and last assignments, they become cognizant of the progress they have made.
- Meaningful, motivating and long-term learning: When students re-examine and compare their different writing assignments, they realize that the writing task is part of a long-term learning process rather than a single evaluative event. The noticeable progress they make and the recognition of their work by the instructor and peers can be highly motivating for most students.