To SIUE "Wing" Portfolio Assessment Project

A. Assessment systems, including portfolio systems, need three prerequisite questions answered:

1. What's the context? What are the "big things" that need to be monitored?
2. What's the construct? What assessment device is appropriate to do the monitoring?
3. What's the use? What audience will see the results and how will feedback develop?

B. Context, construct, & use: Portfolio advantages and disadvantages:

In general, portfolio systems, especially those required of all students across disciplines, are comparatively rare at US universities, slightly more common in private colleges. Difficulties with portfolios include high maintenance costs (somebody, even if it's each student, has to collect and organize the portfolio contents) and difficult evaluation procedures (someone has to read and discuss them). Advantages include academic richness (portfolios reveal academic breadth and depth, student reflection and development) and personal contact (students tend to consult frequently with faculty members when constructing portfolio contents).

C. Portfolios for student or program assessment?

     Portfolios that primarily assess students (e.g., Alverno College, Evergreen College):

• are required of all students,
• ask students to select (within limits) the work that goes into the portfolio,
• require students to maintain their portfolios over a period of semesters to years,
• may involve an oral defense,
• almost always require reflective essays that describe the portfolio materials, choices, and development represented therein.

     Portfolios that primarily assess programs (e.g., Miami University of Ohio,
      Winthrop University, SIUE):

• are required from a sample of the student population,
• specify in advance (most of) the contents of the portfolio,
• are maintained by an [assessment] office,
• may involve an exit or graduation interview,
• may require inclusion of satisfaction surveys, study logs, or short essays on selected topics of program interest.

D. Portfolios required or sampled?

     Required portfolios (e.g., Truman State University, Alverno College, King's College,
      many universities on an individual unit or departmental basis):

• generally assess specific functions, such as general education or readiness for a major,
• are usually maintained by students,
• tend to have elements chosen (within limits) by students,
• are usually graded,
• are reviewed by offices distributed across the institution.

     Sampled portfolios (e.g., SIUE, University of Missouri, Miami University of Ohio):

• generally assess items of university-wide interest such as freshman writing, student attitude, or co-curricular participation,
• are usually maintained by an [assessment] office,
• tend to have specific required elements,
• are not graded and, therefore, are acquired through some inducement for student participation,
• are reviewed by a single office or by representatives of an assessment committee.

E. Portfolios preprogrammed or selected?

     Preprogrammed portfolios (e.g., Miami University, SIUE):

• contain materials identified by representatives of an assessment committee to answer specific questions,
• may or may not follow single students through all years of college,
• are usually maintained by an [assessment] office,
• tend to assess programs.

     Selected portfolios (e.g., Evergreen College, Alverno College):

• contain materials that are selected (within limits) by students to reflect their educational perceptions,
• usually contain materials from all years of college in order to show developmental trends,
• are almost always maintained by the students themselves,
• tend to assess students.