Portfolios

== = = =Guiding Questions=
 * **What will be the purpose of our portfolio?**
 * SD** For me, the most important reason to have students keep a portfolio is to demonstrate and reflect on their growth.
 * BM** I think that the purpose of our portfolio should be to show a student's learning process- strengths, areas of improvement, skills mastered, skills that are being worked on etc. It is also a communication tool between the student, teachers, learning specialists, and parents.
 * LG** I agree with both of these purposes. I see tremendous power in a student being able to reflect upon his/her progress towards developing specific target skills. Using the portfolio as a communication tool is a vital aspect of that growth.
 * AM** Portfolios are designed to reflect on growth throughout the year and students are able to note where they have made improvements and continue to work on. It helps students self-reflect and set ongoing goals.
 * **How will it be assessed?**
 * LG** After reading the sections on assessment in //Using Portfolios Across the Curriculum//, I have mixed feelings. I feel strongly that portfolios are a powerful tool; however, I am not convinced that the portfolios themselves should be evaluated. When I first began using portfolios, I had the portfolios evaluated by the teacher, the student and an outside adult (e.g. a parent). Over the course of the past few years, however, I have moved away from that practice. Perhaps I have made this shift because I want students to focus more on assessing their growth than worrying about the grade they are receiving for that reflection.
 * AM** I tend to use the portfolio as an informal assessment of their continued growth. I will assess their thorough reflections and goal setting.
 * SD** I agree with Lara, I am not sure a portfolio should be formally assessed. The power is in the reflection, not the grade attached to that reflection. I think the presentation of a portfolio is prehaps a type of performance assessment.
 * BM** I agree with Shelly and Lara and don't think that portfolios should be formally assessed. I think that the point of the portfolio is to track progress and to show that learning is a process. If we focus on reaching a final portfolio grade, I think we lose sight of that goal. Portfolios are a means of assessment and a good communication tool to use throughout the year.

= = =Resources= [|Portfolios - Authentic Assessment] This site has a ton of information about the purpose and process of portfolios. Goals and Evaluation Sheets There are sample goal-setting and evaluation sheets here.