Portfolio Assessment in English Language Teaching (ELT)

Teddy Fiktorius (fiktoriusteddy@yahoo.com)

Postgraduate Study of English Language Education
Teacher Training and Education Faculty
University of Tanjungpura
Pontianak, Indonesia
2013

Abstract
Recent educational developments and issues about the necessity to test the skills the
student will need in real-life tasks have brought on a radical change in traditional
approaches of instruction and assessment. For this reason, alternative assessment
approaches are needed in assessing both learning process and learning product.
Nowadays, one of the alternative assessment techniques used in various disciplines such
as mathematics, science and social sciences, and so forth is portfolio. The purpose of this
study is to introduce portfolio assessment method which is used commonly in
educational contexts recently. To achieve this aim, some information of portfolio such as
its definition, its model and implementation, its advantages and disadvantages were
presented. Finally, to exploit portfolio assessment method effectively some
recommendations were made.
Keywords: Real-life tasks, learning process, learning product, alternative assessment,
portfolio assessment method

1. Introduction
Today there is much talk about the necessity to evaluate student achievement and current
knowledge during or after teaching and learning process as it plays a very important role
in education. Specifically, Huang (2012) argues that evaluating is indispensable from
language learning and teaching. Principally, through evaluation, both teachers and
learners can get positive and negative output in teaching. In addition, by evaluating
student performance, teachers can evaluate the weak or strong points of the method or
materials that they use in the learning-teaching process, reconsider their way of teaching,
and make necessary adjustments. Supporting this view, Zimmaro (2004) asserts that
evaluation is done based on assessments, the process of gathering, describing, or
quantifying information about performance.

Nowadays, teaching strategies in language classrooms are shifting from the traditional
way of enlightening unacquainted learners solely by transmitting knowledge to what
students will need to succeed in the real world (Caner, 2010). Todays teachers are
demanded to focus on current language teaching strategies that include thinking critically,
learning to solve problems, and working and communicating with others. However,
assessing these skills through traditional assessment devices is rather difficult. Therefore,
they are faced with a fact that they need to develop new forms of student assessment.

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Caner (2010) also states that new forms of student assessment are developed in order to
demonstrate what students are learning and what they can do with their knowledge. These
new forms of assessment, known variously as alternative or authentic measures, require
students to perform in some ways such as writing, demonstrating, explaining, or
constructing a project or experiment.
One of the alternative assessment procedures that has gained much interest in the field of
language teaching is portfolio assessment, which is regarded as an ongoing assessment
procedure. Gosselin (cited in Caner 2010) defines ongoing assessment as examining and
documenting learner progress at certain intervals in the learning process. In addition, a
portfolio has a wide range of meanings from a drawer into which documents and other
materials such as students worksheets are placed, to a highly structured framework for
holistic assessment of an individual (Davis, 2005). To sum up, basically portfolio is
defined as a purposeful collection of any aspect of the students work which is kept in a
file folder, box, or any durable and expandable container that tells the student's
improvement, progress, and achievement (Javanmard & Farahani, 2012).

Despite its popularity, it is a great misfortune that this innovative form of assessment has
had very limited application in EFL teaching (as observed in my workplace). In the
context of my workplace, where English is taught as a foreign language, I notice that
traditional assessment techniques continue to occupy an important place in the student as-
sessment due to lack of professional development as well as conservative attitude of some
teachers. In order not to be pessimistic though, the opportunity to apply this form of
assessment into EFL teaching and learning is, of course, always open.

By carefully reviewing, analysing, and evaluating current literature and research on the
use of portfolio in enhancing the EFL teaching and learning, I would advance my
argument in this essay under four sections. The first part describes the theoretical
framework of defining portfolio assessment in education, particularly in EFL teaching
and learning. This is followed by an illustration of how portfolio assessment is
beneficially implemented in EFL teaching-learning, especially by teachers or educators.
Then, the next part discusses the advantages of the use of portfolio assessment. Problems
and challenges of using portfolio assessment strategy are addressed in the section that
follows. Finally, in the conclusion, I propose some solutions for to the problems
presented, and justify my position toward the use of portfolio assessment to support the
EFL teaching and learning.

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2. Portfolio Assessment in EFL Teaching and Learning
Neiman (cited in Serhani 2007) defines portfolio assessment as a selected collection of
work that shows not only the best work, but also the development of the individual's work
over a period of time. The students are expected to be independent thinkers or produce
individual solutions to problems they face. Ramazan (2012) asserts that a portfolio, in
aducation, stands for a kind of student-centered assessment. Unlike the traditional
assessment processes, portfolio assessments enable learners to participate in the
evaluation of their own works because students can decide the content of the portfolio
through the given directions of the instructor.

In practical terms, a student portfolio for assessment purposes is a library of reports,

papers, and other materials, together with the students reflection on his or her learning
and on strengths and weaknesses. The assessment portfolio is prepared by an individual
student either at the direction of the teacher or as uniquely planned by the student. It may
also contain reports of grades, evaluations, and examinations, and it is usually held
together in some appropriate binder (Lynch & Shaw cited in Huang, 2012).

As portfolios can provide a rich view of learning process, a portfolio is often seen as a
highly valid instrument for assessment. However, the data in a portfolio, being often
descriptive, context-bound and personal, ask for much interpretation before they can be
scored (Moss, cited in Schaaf 2005). This view is supported by Wolf and Dietz (cited in
Schaaf 2005) who conclude that portfolios normally contain selected evidence of
performance and products in various contexts accompanied by a teachers comments and
reflections.

Generally speaking, for some a portfolio is a folder containing all the student work;
others see it as a collection of the student best work. The literature reviewed on portfolios
reveals that there are many types of portfolios in use. According to Columba & Dolgos
(cited in Ramazan 2012), there are basically three types of portfolios to consider for
classroom use.
2.1. Showcase
This type of portfolio focuses on the students best and most representative work.
This type of portfolio is similar to an artists portfolio where a variety of work is
selected to reflect breadth of talent. Therefore, in this portfolio the student selects
what he or she thinks is representative work. This folder is most often seen at open
houses and parent visitations.

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 2.2. Teacher-Student Portfolio
This type of portfolio is often called the working portfolio or a working folder.
This is an interactive teacher-student portfolio that aids in communication between
teacher and student. The teacher and student conference to add or delete within the
content of the show-case portfolio.

2.3. Teacher Alternative Assessment Portfolio

All the items in this type of portfolio are scored, rated, ranked, or evaluated.
Teachers can keep individual student portfolios that are solely for the teachers use
as an assessment tool. This is a focused type of portfolio and is a model of the ho-
listic approach to assessment.

The following discusses some models of portfolio assessment and how they are
implemented in EFL classrooms.

3. Models and Implementation of Portfolio Assessment in EFL Classrooms

Reviewing the literature, different models of portfolio assessment are suggested for
developing and implementing portfolio assessment programs in EFL classrooms.

Gomez (cited in Serhani 2007) proposes a portfolio assessment model for EFL learners
which includes eleven interrelated levels of assessment activities:
Decide about goals and content
Design the portfolio assessment program
Develop scoring criteria and standards of performance
Align tasks to standards and curriculum
Implement at pilot sites, provide staff development, and analyze results
Implement at all sites
Train teachers to score
Establish guidelines for administration
Score the portfolios
Report the results
Evaluate the program

Another model of portfolio assessment is presented by Davis (2005). It is composed of

five stages with the detailed description of its implementation in EFL classrooms:
3.1. Collection of evidence of achievement of learning outcomes

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 The student collects evidence of achievement of the learning outcomes during their
day-to-day learning activities. The evidence in portfolios is limited only by the
degree of the designers creativity. This material will be submitted by the student for
marking and feedback during the portfolio-building process.
3.2. Reflection on learning
Reflection is revisiting an experience after the event, in order to extract the principles
and effectively bank these for future use. The reflective process should be directed
to promote learning, personal and professional development, and improvement of
practice. In the context of portfolio assessment, reflection must answer four
questions relating to a learning experience: What did I learn? What do I still need to
learn? What resources did I use for further learning? What further learning was
achieved?

3.3. Evaluation of evidence

Once the students submit the portfolio, the teachers will evaluate the quality of the
evidence it contains. The teachers rate the students achievement of the learning
outcomes on rating scales, anchored with precise and specific descriptors of
behaviour at each point on the scale. Such rating scale rubrics help benchmark the
passing standard in the standard-setting process of portfolio assessment. Because of
the subjective nature of the assessment decisions involved in the use of rating scales,
ratings of several examiners must be collated to arrive at a reliable evaluation of the
portfolio evidence of a particular student.

3.4. Defense of evidence

At this stage, the examiners interview the students to check how well the portfolio
has reflected students achievement of the learning outcomes. The teachers use the
interview to confirm the decisions they made regarding the students strengths and
weaknesses in terms of the learning outcomes.

3.5. Assessment decision

Rating scales with clearly defined descriptors are used to assess the evidence. The
expected standard of performance, as a point on the rating scale, is agreed by the
teachers prior to the assessment. Any disagreement regarding the standard of student
performance is resolved by discussion between the teachers after the student
interview. In essence, the assessment decision is taken by consensus among the
teachers.

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 Lyons & Condon (cited in Serhani 2007) claim that there are three basic principles,
namely collection, selection, and reflection, that serve as the requirements of the success
of the portfolio assessment implementation. In the light of this statement, it can be argued
that a portfolio must include samples of a student's work rather than all the work done.
Furthermore, what is to be included in the portfolio must be individually selected by
students, as what is stated in A Resource for Integrating Collaborative Language
Portfolio published by Manitoba Labour and Immigration (2004) that The items added
to a portfolio need to be selective. It (2004) also describes a portfolio as a selection
language tasks that does not include everything a learner has done throughout the course.
It contains a sampling of the language tasks and exercises completed by the learner and
are selected because they show what the learner has become able to do.

Finally, a very crucial part of portfolio assessment is reflection. Coombe & Barlow (cited
in Serhani 2007) explain that having reflection as part of the portfolio process requires
students to think about their needs, goals, weaknesses, and strengths in language learning.
They are also asked to select their best work and to explain why that work was beneficial
to them. Neiman (cited in Serhani 2007) reports that a collection can be made into a
meaningful learning experience if reflection is involved. This view is supported by Santos
(cited in Serhani 2007) who says the portfolio would remain a meaningless folder of
sheets of paper if the students dont actively make any progress in the reflection phase.
This is in line with Pierce & Malley (1992) who assert that student reflection and self-
monitoring are the key elements of the success of the portfolio assessment
implementation.

After reviewing the models and implementation of portfolio assessment in EFL

classrooms, the following discussion describes how the use of portfolio assessment
strategy enriches assessment in EFL classrooms.

4. Advantages of Portfolio Assessment Strategy.

Some researchers have referred to the countless advantages of portfolio assessment
(Davis, 2005; Huang, 2012). As learnt in the literature, what makes a portfolio
assessment so beneficial is that it examines students' progress toward targets and goals by
collecting a variety of the documents of instruction over an extended period of time,
instead of a specific separate point of time, as Davis (2005) maintains that portfolio can
monitor and assess students progress over time. Students autonomous learning ability
can be developed through the activity of keeping a portfolio developed. By compiling a
portfolio, the students are able to frequently set goals, reflect on their learning results and

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check on their progress, conduct self-assessment and peer-assessment by consulting the
given criteria with the teachers guidance (Huang, 2012). In addition, Baume (2000)
claims that portfolios are a very effective method for stimulating, supporting, integrating
and assessing student work.

Another major strength of portfolio assessment strategy is that it provides involvement

and collaboration in the learning process and its assessment. As Serhani (2007) claims
that teachers should do more than teaching to tests likewise students, should do more than
studying for tests. In other words, teachers and students should collaborate in the process
of assessment. This is in line with Davis (2005) who states that portfolio assessment can
be the focus of initiating a discussion between student and tutor. Serhani (2007)
additionally explains that students with teacher assistance and guidance are involved in
preparing their own portfolios. This helps students gain a sense of responsibility towards
their work. When students are involved in reflection activities and setting goals for future
progress, they become more self-critical and reflective about their activities, as Davis
(2005) reminds us that portfolio promotes students critical thinking.

As being developmental pictures of students' progress, Serhani (2007) asserts that

portfolios provide teachers with a broad opportunity to find out who each student is, what
that student knows and does not know. It enables the teacher to see students as
individuals, each with his or her own unique of characteristics and needs. Besides, it
offers teachers vital information for diagnosing students strengths and weaknesses to
help them improve their performance (Davis, 2005). In other words, portfolio assessment
can accommodate the diverse learning patterns of all students and enable each of them to
realize and experience success (Brown, cited in Serhani 2007).

Finally, the portfolio assessment strategy would provide teachers with a tool not only for
assessing students' performance but also for thinking about teaching and learning
processes (Wagner & Lilly, cited in Serhani 2007). Portfolios allow teachers to provide
students valuable comments as feedback that reflects improvement in their future work.
This is possible as teachers obtain clear insights into their teaching. Subsequently,
teaching plans and strategies can be modified to improve the instructional process in the
classrooms.

Notwithstanding the benefits, portfolio assessment in English language teaching brings

about some problems which serve as a challenge for further research. These matters are
briefly presented in the following section of the essay.

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5. Problems and Challenges of Using the Portfolio Assessment Strategy.
Portfolio assessment is an innovative, alternative assessment strategy that is rich in both
strengths and weaknesses that should be fully considered for successful implementation.

One major concern as a drawback for portfolio assessment strategy is time (Davis, 2005;
Pierce & O'Malley, 1992). Portfolio assessment can be very time-consuming for teachers
especially if portfolios are done in addition to traditional grading. Gmez (1999) says that
finding the time to score the portfolios can be particularly burdensome for teachers if the
school uses assessment portfolios in addition to traditional testing. The strategy puts more
pressure on teachers and makes some feel anxious especially those using it for the first
time. Teachers need knowledge to manage portfolios easily and successfully as portfolio
assessment can be something new and unfamiliar which demands study.

Teachers need to spend much energy for portfolios management. They need to get
involved in developing strategies and materials, conferencing with individual students or
small groups, reviewing portfolios contents, commenting on students' work, and provide
feedback. During the process of developing portfolios, students must receive feedback
from the teacher. In addition, most students must be guided through the process of
developing portfolios as portfolios may be a new experience for them. Briefly, all these
activities require the teachers to devote their energy more than they do in the traditional
assessment.

There is also concern about using portfolios that deals with decisions that have to be
made constantly about what to include and how to evaluate and interpret the contents of
the portfolio. In practice, another problem of portfolio assessment strategy is exposed
when developing reliable, valid, and effective scoring guides, rubrics, and criteria for
assessment of portfolios and its contents. Schaaf (2005:) explains that assessing portfolios
involves complex interactions between teachers competences, the portfolio, the
standards used, raters characteristics, and raters interpretations. Therefore, scoring
students' portfolios which include a variety of work of different purposes done over time
is more time-consuming than scoring a traditional test.

Furthermore, it is difficult to establish the validity of portfolio assessment, given that

validity refers to the question whether the assessment is measuring the intended
constructs (Schaaf, 2005). This idea is further viewed by Davis (2005) who claims that in
the context of portfolio assessment, validity is the extent to which the portfolio assesses

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 the curriculum learning outcomes. With the amount of assistance and guidance provided
by teachers during the process of developing portfolios, there is an important issue that
needs to be considered which is whether portfolios are an actually representative of
students' performance.

Finally, one of the main challenges regarding using the portfolio assessment strategy is
related to reliability. Schaaf (2005) defines reliability as stability over time and
consistency between assessments. Problems in scoring emerge as portfolio contains a
variety of work samples of different purposes which are collected over time. The
challenge is that portfolio assessment may produce unacceptably low inter-rater
reliability, especially if the assessment rubrics are not properly prepared or are used by
untrained assessors (Davis, 2005). Gmez (1999) defines inter-rater reliability as
consistency of scoring among raters (those assessing and scoring students work). This
problem can be coped with when raters are on acceptable rating rubrics and are
sufficiently practiced in portfolio grading. This is in line with Schaaf (2005) who claims
that the development and use of a scoring model must be supported and clearly
understood by the raters.

To sum up, the portfolio assessment strategy is found not to alter the traditional forms of
assessment. Portfolio assessment and standardized testing can intertwine and complement
each other.

6. Conclusion and Recommendations

The portfolio assessment has strong educational significance. As a teacher, having
reviewed the literature, I believe it can provide me with more feedback on my teaching
and lot of information about students learning, which are very helpful to improve my
teaching. Furthermore, the portfolio assessment provides a more authentic assessment of
students achievement and comprehensive views of students performances in contexts, it
encourages students to develop into independent and self-directed learners, and enhances
communication among teacher and students. It also can encourage students to take re-
sponsibility for their own learning, and enhance student-teacher communication. In
addition, portfolio assessment has a potential to demonstrate students learning process
and leaning product over time. As a result, portfolio gives detailed information about
students development in learning process to teachers, parents and students themselves.

Looking at the significance, I see the possibilities of its use in enhancing the foreign
language teaching and learning (in this case English). Indeed, this paper is not intended to

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provide very deliberate references of how the portfolio assessment should be used by
teachers or students. Yet, it is a reminder that every piece of educational innovation might
actually enhance teaching and learning process when used wisely and appropriately.
Accordingly, after reviewing, analysing, and evaluating current literatures and research
studies which are relevant to the issue, I come to an agreement that the portfolio
assessment strategy can serve as a good alternative assessment in English language
teaching and learning.

However, I realise that despite the advantages it offers, the use of the portfolio assessment
in EFL teaching and learning is not free from problems or drawbacks. As it has both
advantages and disadvantages, it will most probably be unreasonable and ineffective to
use it as the only way of assessment. Therefore, on this occasion, I would like to put
forward some recommendations. First, since it is still quite unfamiliar in terms of
managing the implementation , the use of the portfolio assessment necessitate more
projects and training to promote its real benefits toward EFL learning.

Next, as a teacher or educator, I encourage myself as well as others in a similar

profession, to develop our creativity and willingness in learning and applying the
portfolio assessment in order to enhance our professionalism. Last but not least, we must
encourage our students (not force them) to be self-motivated in making use of the
convenience offered by the innovation of the alternative assessment, portfolio assessment.

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