Making use of portfolio for assessment

Pages: 1034-1037
Ramesh Sandhu (Department of Education, C. R. College of Education, Hisar, Haryana)

Society requires the students to develop cognitive skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, data analysis techniques and its presentation. Thus our educational system needs a more powerful learning environment. Thus some alternative assessment methods have been developed to measure students’ performance. One such alternative assessment method is portfolio assessment. Portfolio provides more reliable and dynamic data about the learners for teachers, parents and student themselves. Arter and Spandel has defined portfolio as a powerful collection of student work that exhibits to the student, or other, her efforts or achievement in one or more areas. Portfolio enables students to have a self assessment for their studies and learning. It helps students as a whole. It helps the learner to acquire some vital abilities like self assessment, critical thinking and monitoring one’s own learning and help them become self-directed and reflective practitioners. It provides an opportunity to the students to demonstrate his / her strength and weaknesses. It assesses realistic and meaningful daily literacy task. Portfolios provide multiple ways of assessing students’ learning overtime. It encourages students to develop some abilities needed to become independent and self directed learners. Portfolios also assess personal attributes. It enhances interactions between students and teachers and stimulates the use of reflective strategies.