Portfolio-based Assessment Research Articles

Enriching Their Potential: Supporting Black Male Teacher Candidates in the Age of edTPA

ABSTRACT Intense pressure from multiple stakeholders has forced teacher preparation programs (TPPs) to investigate better methods to prepare teacher candidates to enter classrooms and instruct students on day one. Part of this increased level of accountability has resulted in the formation of teacher evaluative assessments as state licensure exams. One licensure exam sweeping across TPPs in the United States is edTPA. This portfolio-based assessment has garnered an assortment of national support from top policy makers, educators, and teacher accountability advocates, but it has also raised concerns over the potential racial bias that standardized assessments have against teacher candidates of color. This concern comes at a juncture where the nation is seeing modest gains in the number of Black male teacher candidates entering the teaching profession. Building upon prior research (2019) findings, our study provides tangible approaches and a framework for TPPs to utilize to better support Black male teacher candidates in completing edTPA. Additionally, we intend to present explicit recommendations for TPP decision makers and university faculty regarding how both employ edTPA support services to bolster the number of highly effective Black male teacher candidates who enter and successfully matriculate through a teacher preparation program.

Using the CLB in WorkLINC

Striving for greater English proficiency and securing a job are common goals of newcomers to Canada. For newcomers in the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program, the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB)/Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) provide an indicator of their abilities and progress in their language acquisition. The CLB have become the backbone of WorkLINC, an industry-specific work readiness program. They anchor curriculum, Portfolio-Based Language Assessment (PBLA) real-world tasks, and classroom activities. WorkLINC participants develop their vocabulary, soft skills, workplace safety knowledge, and get employment support. Instructors have shared the CLB with employers and community partners to increase comprehension of newcomers’ language levels. Though there are challenges meeting the diverse needs in multi-level cohorts, engaging learners about the purpose of classroom tasks and understanding the CLB competency areas in which they need development enables them to focus on achievable goals directly related to their employment aspirations.

Perseverance in Teacher Preparation and Certification Assessments During the COVID-19 Pandemic (or Not)

Once lauded for its potential to increase the quality of novice educators entering the teaching profession by representing a performance-based assessment akin to professional licensure examinations in other fields, edTPA was discontinued by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) as a required credential for professional educator certification in the state of Georgia after almost six years of implementation. The decision accompanied the removal of a second ethics assessment in the midst of school and testing center closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite administrative efforts to clarify accommodations for completing the portfolio-based assessment in online teaching environments. Time will tell if our institution’s temporary solution to replace edTPA will lead to the meaningful changes in teacher education envisioned by our college.

University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

A Washback Study on Portfolio Assessment

The latest developments in the field of learning English as a foreign language have encouraged language teachers to use more authentic and realistic assessments. This situation makes portfolios as alternative assessments increasingly popular. As the popularity of the portfolio grows, questions among assessment developers have also arisen. They question whether the portfolio really is a proper assessment. In this study, the researcher investigated the wash-back effect of portfolio-based assessment. She observed the instructional process in a translation and a writing class to see how the two types of portfolios were used. This qualitative analysis study also studies by triangulating the data with the support of data from interviews and questionnaires. Researcher then classified the opinions and reflections of students and lecturers obtained from the interview and questionnaire responses. The findings suggest the use of a portfolio is indeed appropriate for use in writing and translating subjects. Portfolio-based assessments generate positive washback effect on the learning process.

Student perspectives on competency-based portfolios: Does aportfolio reflect their competence development?

IntroductionPortfolio-based assessments require that learners’ competence development is adequately reflected in portfolio documentation. This study explored how students select and document performance data in their portfolios and how they perceive these data to be representative for their competence development.MethodsStudents uploaded performance data in a competency-based portfolio. During one clerkship period, twelve students also recorded an audio diary in which they reflected on experiences and feedback that they perceived to be indicants of their competence development. Afterwards, these students were interviewed to explore the extent to which the performance documentation in the portfolio corresponded with what they considered illustrative evidence of their development. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsPortfolios provide an accurate but fragmented picture of student development. Portfolio documentation was influenced by tensions between learning and assessment, student beliefs about the goal of portfolios, student performance evaluation strategies, the learning environment and portfolio structure.DiscussionThis study confirms the importance of taking student perceptions into account when implementing a competency-based portfolio. Students would benefit from coaching on how to select meaningful experiences and performance data for documentation in their portfolios. Flexibility in portfolio structure and requirements is essential to ensure optimal fit between students’ experienced competence development and portfolio content.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s40037-020-00571-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

When inquiry is seen as resistance to change: expert teachers’ experiences with the implementation of portfolio-based language assessment (PBLA)

ABSTRACTExpert teachers’ experiences with the implementation of portfolio-based language assessment (PBLA) were analyzed through the conceptual framework of critical pedagogy. Serious practitioner concerns about mandatory PBLA implementation challenged the official narrative of PBLA as a progressive change. Through a close examination of three expert teachers’ experiences, this study illuminated the disconnect between the official interpretation of teachers’ “resistance to change,” and the critical inquiry-oriented stance of these practitioners. According to participants, PBLA policy and implementation rendered teachers voiceless in the top-down implementation process. The findings demonstrated that principles of critical language teacher education were neglected in PBLA design and implementation to the detriment of all stakeholders. The findings suggest that these principles may offer helpful guidance in designing and implementing productive educational change in language teaching and learning.

Emerging bimodal biometrics authentication for non-venue-based assessments in open distance e-learning (OdeL) environments

Authentication plays a significant role in security during the non-venue-based examination, as it verifies the identity of online students. Existing authentication techniques have not yet provided an optimal cheating-free, non-venue-based assessment. This research proposes an emerging biometrics technology model of facial recognition and keystroke dynamics (FRAKD) to minimise the problems of malpractice during examinations significantly. Detailed experiments conducted on the Moodle learning management system (LMS), using a client-server platform of 100 diverse students who were captured as a positive data set, produced an average recognition rate (RR) of 85%, while for 20 imposter students, an average rejection rate of 90% was realised. When benchmarked with related solutions, this result shows that using the FRAKD biometrics model in non-venue-based assessment demonstrates reliable security and minimises impersonation more than state-of-the-art practices such as portfolio-based distance assessment without supervision. This improved solution will obviously have great value for ODeL institutions and examination bodies.

Authentic Assessment: Portfolio-Based Assessment in Literacy Learning in Indonesian Schools

Comprehensive evaluation and emphasis on the student activity process as well as providing broad wiggle room for students is needed in learning assessment. Literacy assessment with such a model is necessary to improve students' literacy skills. One assessment model that puts pressure on student activity and provides ample space for everyone to respond to an assignment in its own way is the assessment of portfolio. This paper aims to explore portfolio assessments as part of an authentic assessment for use in literacy assessments. This research uses literart research study method to provide an overview of the use of portfolios in literacy assessments in Indonesian schools. Portfolio assessment on students’ literacy skills is carried out through Indonesian language learning, especially on the efficacy of writing. The portfolio assessment adopted uses models offered by Hamp-Lyons and Condon (2000) consisting of collection, selection, and reflection. Assessments are carried out by combining formative and summative assessments. To balance the summative aspects of portfolio assessment, several formative strategies can be adopted (Lee & Lam, 2009), including (1) ongoing teacher feedback, (2) conferences, and (3) peer reviews.

FROM AUTHENTIC TO HOLISTIC: THE EVOLVING TREND OF PORTFOLIO – BASED ASSESSMENT

This article attempts to overview literature on the evolving trend of portfolio-based assessment which has been argued to be the answer for the non-holistic and non-authentic nature of traditional tests. Both empirical and theoretical studies presented to explore the utilization of portfolio as well as the challenges faced over this type of assessment. This article also provides some implications for future studies particularly on the development of portfolio assessment literacy or professional training to teachers and the use of electronic portfolios. Most studies on the use of portfolio particularly in Indonesian setting have been mainly focused on writing skill rather than other language skills. Therefore, addressing the integration of portfolio assessment in other skills is suggested for future examinations. Article visualizations:

Investigating Science Teacher Candidates’ Assessment Practices Using Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA)

The emerging paradigm in assessment argues for teachers to assess student thinking, as opposed to factual recall, thus calling for alternative-performance, project, and portfolio-based assessments that align with constructivist and sociocultural views of learning (Resnick & Resnick, 1992; Shepard, 2000). In this study, three science teacher candidates’ experience in assessing students is documented. Data analysis was from open-prompt surveys, 15 Teacher Performance Assessment edTPA artifacts collected from the three teacher candidates, and individual interviews. Findings indicated that science teacher candidates made deliberate efforts in giving students feedback to guide their learning but they struggled with strategies that encourage students to appropriately use that feedback once given to them. We argue that broadening how teacher candidates analyze assessment and feedback given to students in science classes should not only indicate correct or incorrect responses, but also act as a guide for future learning and reveal students’ strengths.

What Is the Relationship Between a Preclerkship Portfolio Review and Later Performance in Clerkships?

Medical educators struggle to find effective ways to assess essential competencies such as communication, professionalism, and teamwork. Portfolio-based assessment provides one method of addressing this problem by allowing faculty reviewers to judge performance, as based on a longitudinal record of student behavior. At the Feinberg School of Medicine, the portfolio system measures behavioral competence using multiple assessments collected over time. This study examines whether a preclerkship portfolio review is a valid method of identifying problematic student behavior affecting later performance in clerkships. The authors divided students into two groups based on a summative preclerkship portfolio review in 2014: students who had concerning behavior in one or more competencies and students progressing satisfactorily. They compared how students in these groups later performed on two clerkship outcomes as of October 2015: final grades in required clerkships, and performance on a clerkship clinical composite score. They used Mann-Whitney tests and multiple linear regression to examine the relationship between portfolio review results and clerkship outcomes. They used USMLE Step 1 to control for knowledge acquisition. Students with concerning behavior preclerkship received significantly lower clerkship grades than students progressing satisfactorily (P = .002). They also scored significantly lower on the clinical composite score (P < .001). Regression analysis indicated concerning behavior was associated with lower clinical composite scores, even after controlling for knowledge acquisition. The results show a preclerkship portfolio review can identify behaviors that impact clerkship performance. A comprehensive portfolio system is a valid way to measure behavioral competencies.

From aggregation to interpretation: how assessors judge complex data in a competency-based portfolio

While portfolios are increasingly used to assess competence, the validity of such portfolio-based assessments has hitherto remained unconfirmed. The purpose of the present research is therefore to further our understanding of how assessors form judgments when interpreting the complex data included in a competency-based portfolio. Eighteen assessors appraised one of three competency-based mock portfolios while thinking aloud, before taking part in semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis of the think-aloud protocols and interviews revealed that assessors reached judgments through a 3-phase cyclical cognitive process of acquiring, organizing, and integrating evidence. Upon conclusion of the first cycle, assessors reviewed the remaining portfolio evidence to look for confirming or disconfirming evidence. Assessors were inclined to stick to their initial judgments even when confronted with seemingly disconfirming evidence. Although assessors reached similar final (pass–fail) judgments of students’ professional competence, they differed in their information-processing approaches and the reasoning behind their judgments. Differences sprung from assessors’ divergent assessment beliefs, performance theories, and inferences about the student. Assessment beliefs refer to assessors’ opinions about what kind of evidence gives the most valuable and trustworthy information about the student’s competence, whereas assessors’ performance theories concern their conceptualizations of what constitutes professional competence and competent performance. Even when using the same pieces of information, assessors furthermore differed with respect to inferences about the student as a person as well as a (future) professional. Our findings support the notion that assessors’ reasoning in judgment and decision-making varies and is guided by their mental models of performance assessment, potentially impacting feedback and the credibility of decisions. Our findings also lend further credence to the assertion that portfolios should be judged by multiple assessors who should, moreover, thoroughly substantiate their judgments. Finally, it is suggested that portfolios be designed in such a way that they facilitate the selection of and navigation through the portfolio evidence.

The Effect of Portfolio-Based Assessment on EFL Students Writings and Process Writing

Sharifi and Hassaskhah (2011) set out to investigate the impact of portfolio assessment techniques on the overall quality of students' writing. The population of the study included 20 university students in a time interval extending over one semester at the University of Guilan, Iran. In this review I'm going to summarize this study in terms of its research design and the results reached by the researchers. The two dimensions of this research will then be discussed in terms of their descriptive power, explanatory adequacy and external validity.

THE EFFECT OF SCAFFOLDING AND PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT ON JORDANIAN EFL LEARNERS’ WRITING

&lt;p&gt;This study examines the potential effect of scaffolding-based instruction and portfolio-based assessment on Jordanian EFL tenth grade students’ overall writing performance and their performance on the sub-skills of focus, development, organization, conventions and word choice. The study uses a quasi-experimental experimental/control group, pre-/posttest design. In the experimental group, 15 female tenth grade students from the North-Eastern Badia Directorate of Education (Jordan) were taught to generate ideas, structure, draft, and edit their written pieces using agency scaffolding, the scaffolding principles of contextual support, continuity, intersubjectivity, flow, contingency and handover, and a slightly adapted version of Hamp-Lyons and Condon’s (2000) Portfolio Model of collection, selection and reflection. A control group of 28 students were instructed conventionally per the guidelines of the teacher’s book. Using descriptive statistics and ANCOVA to analyze the students’ scores on the pre- and the posttests, the results showed that the group taught through scaffolding-based instruction and portfolio-based assessment outperformed the control group (at a≤ 0.05) in their overall writing performance and in their performance on the five writing sub-skills.&lt;/p&gt;

The Development of Statistics Textbook Supported with ICT and Portfolio-Based Assessment

This research was development research that aimed to develop and produce a Statistics textbook model that supported with information and communication technology (ICT) and Portfolio-Based Assessment. This book was designed for students of mathematics at the college to improve students’ ability in mathematical connection and communication. There were three stages in this research i.e. define, design, and develop. The textbooks consisted of 10 chapters which each chapter contains introduction, core materials and include examples and exercises. The textbook developed phase begins with the early stages of designed the book (draft 1) which then validated by experts. Revision of draft 1 produced draft 2 which then limited test for readability test book. Furthermore, revision of draft 2 produced textbook draft 3 which simulated on a small sample to produce a valid model textbook. The data were analysed with descriptive statistics. The analysis showed that the Statistics textbook model that supported with ICT and Portfolio-Based Assessment valid and fill up the criteria of practicality.

The Effect of Portfolio-Based Assessment on Jordanian EFL Learners’ Writing Performance

This study examines the effect of portfolio assessment on Jordanian EFL tenth grade learners’ overall writing performance and their performance on the sub-skills of focus, development, organization, conventions and word choice. The study is quasi-experimental in which an experimental group and a control group of 20 students each were purposefully drawn from tenth grade classes at the public schools for girls in the North-Eastern Badia Directorate of Education. The experimental group was instructed on how to generate ideas, structure, draft, and edit their written pieces following Hamp-Lyons and Condon’s (2000) while the control group was instructed conventionally as prescribed in the Teacher’s Book. The findings revealed that the portfolio group outperformed the conventionally instructed group (at a≤ 0.05) in their overall writing performance and in their performance on the writing sub-skills of focus, development, organization, conventions and word choice.

The Use of E-portfolio-based Assessment to Develop Students’ Self-regulated Learning in English Language Teaching

Traditional assessment ways like multiple choice tests have been used to evaluate students’ performance in English language teaching (ELT) at schools, but these assessment methods are not effective and efficient because they do not show the real performance of students. On the other hand, student-centeredness is the main focus of many teaching and learning methods and techniques used in ELT. It emphasizes learning by doing. As the main focus is on learning by doing, assessing this process requires different assessment methods that take factors, such as students’ understanding and personal difference into consideration, while evaluating learners’ performance. Therefore, educators need to develop new student-centred assessment methods to evaluate learners in ELT. One of these ways is the use of e-portfolios. E-portfolios can be used as an assessment in courses effectively to improve different learning styles of learners. One of them is self-regulated learning, which focuses on students’ taking responsibility for their learning from the beginning to the end. This process includes setting goals and organizing learning environments according to their determined goals, but finding research on the use of e-portfolios as an assessment tool in self-regulated learning in ELT is rare. Therefore, this paper aims to find out whether e-portfolio-based assessment can be used to improve students’ self-regulated learning through reviewing the literature. The result of the literature review indicates that e- portfolio-based assessment can develop students’ self-regulated learning in ELT.

Validity of the learning portfolio: analysis of a portfolio proposal for the university

Validity is a central issue in portfolio-based assessment. This empirical study used a quantitative approach to analyse the validity of the inferences drawn from a disciplinary course work portfolio assessment comprising profession-specific and learning competencies. The study also examined the problems involved in the development of the portfolios and the features of the portfolio design that had a positive effect on validity. Teachers evaluated the performance of 25 first-year university students who produced portfolios for an obligatory course in a fine arts degree. The study data comprised the 1,300 scores obtained by the students. To assess the adequacy of the portfolio in its educational context, both the students’ workload and their final grades were examined. The examination of the final grades and factor analyses confirmed the validity of portfolio-based assessment but also revealed the difficulty of encouraging students to reflect on the learning process, especially where higher-order learning outcomes were concerned. The students considered that the 25.49 % increase in hours of autonomous work made the workload excessive. With a Cronbach α above .90, however, the use of a well-structured portfolio and a descriptive and detailed assessment system helped to compensate for the complexity of the learning outcomes and the students’ lack of familiarity with portfolios.

Integrating Critical Thinking About Values Into an Introductory Geoscience Course

ABSTRACTThis paper presents an instructional strategy for engaging students with the critical exploration of values in introductory geoscience courses. It is argued that the consideration of values (i.e., abstract expressions of desirable qualities such as cooperation, security, curiosity, and honesty) is an integral part of scientific practice and therefore appropriate for a science course. Allowing students to critically reflect on their values has also been shown to increase student engagement and course performance. I have integrated critical thinking about values into an introductory history of life course through a variety of student-centered activities, including class discussions, homework essays, course blog postings, and exam questions. Topics discussed include anthropogenic global warming, evolution versus creationism, federal funding for science, commercial sale of dinosaur fossils, and cloning of extinct species. Portfolio-based assessments and student evaluations indicate that the values-based strategy promotes student engagement and develops students' ability to recognize and use values in analyzing arguments about socioscientific issues. Values-based inquiry increases both students' motivation to learn science and their academic performance in a science course. Because many aspects of geoscience research have social and ethical implications, the values approach can be readily incorporated into any geoscience course. Fostering critical thinking on values-related issues empowers our students to become informed, reflective citizens.