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Assessment - Student Growth Portfolios

 Student growth portfolios are collections of evidence showing growth in standards or criteria (Sowers and Meyers, 2021). These can be maintained by either the teacher or by the student, and are usually utilized in parent conferences and communication. Increasingly, portfolios are kept in electronic form and connected to learning platforms such as Managebac or SeeSaw. 

So why would teachers have students collate samples of work? The benefits far outweigh the shortcomings. Student-maintained portfolios encourage students to take ownership of their work, reflect on their learning journey, and increase metacognitive skills (Sowers and Meyers, 2021). 

Some disadvantages to maintaining these portfolios include the time spent collecting and reflecting on work, which takes time away from content instruction, and the difficulty some students and parents have with the technological aspect of the electronic portfolio. Additionally, not all students will receive feedback at the same level on their portfolios, as this is determined by the individual teacher’s commitment to the student growth portfolio model. 

Aurelia and Dad at SLC Day


In my school, we use student growth portfolios in conjunction with Managebac in order to provide parents with a consistent and current picture of their student’s learning. This has proved to be good in some ways, with parents being interested in their students’ work; however, it is also a challenge in that some teachers are not consistently following up with having students put work in their portfolios, so the practice seems uneven. 


Reference

Sowers, K. L., & Meyers, S. (2021). Integrating essential learning outcomes and electronic portfolios: Recommendations for assessment of student growth, course objectives, program outcomes, and accreditation standards. New Directions for Teaching & Learning, 2021(166), 43–57. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.20451

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