Zaabalawi and Zaabalawi ﻿
Language Testing in Asia
(2024) 14:28
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-024-00296-yLanguage Testing in Asia

Open Access

CASE STUDY

Portfolios versus exams: a study to gauge
the better student assessment tool
Rafe S. Zaabalawi1*   and Jawad Zaabalawi2*Correspondence:
rafezaabalawi@hotmail.com
1
School of E‑Education,
Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart
University, Dubai, United ArabEmirates2
College of Engineering,
American University of Sharjah,
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Abstract
Portfolio assessment is a method used by teachers to evaluate their students’ academic performance by giving them several assignments and/or projects to workon during the semester. This is one alternative to exams which are an assessment tool
seldom questioned for its validity and efficacy. This study seeks to scrutinize both of thementioned methods of assessment and determine which is more accurate and viable
to be adopted in tertiary education. A cohort of sixty 20–22-year-old university
students in the College of Engineering at the American University of Sharjah participated in this study. They were required to complete a questionnaire comprising 12questions concerning the academic, mental health, and professional benefits that students can enjoy as a result of being tested by means of portfolio assessment insteadof exams. The research question is as follows: Is portfolio assessment a generally more
viable method of evaluating university students’ academic performance than exams
in terms of the potential academic, mental health, and professional benefits whichsuch an assessment affords students? Overall, portfolio assessment was found to bea much more appropriate method of assessing university students than exams. The
results of the study have implications for university professors, education experts,
and examiners.
Keywords: Portfolio assessment, Exams, Alternative assessment, Assessment tools,
Assessing academic performance

Introduction
Assessment in education is a critical part of students’ lives, as it can be a significant turning point that determines the path that they take (Al-Hawamdeh et al., 2023; Bordoh
et al., 2015; Dikli, 2003; Sletten, 2021). For a primary or secondary school student, thiscan be the difference between advancing to the next year or repeating the year, and fora university student, it can be the difference between passing or failing a course. In any
case, it is clear that students must be assessed accurately and given a fair chance to demonstrate their best performance (Logsdon, 2022; Nasab, 2015; Vigeant, 2021). This is also
true from an educational institution’s standpoint, as it strives to bring the best out of its
students which can help develop an image of high performance for the institution andcan, thus, attract more students to it (Lafuente-Ruiz-de-Sabando et al., 2018; Tamuliene& Murzaite, 2013).
© The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permitsuse, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original
author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third
party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or
exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://​creat​iveco​mmons.​org/​licen​ses/​by/4.​0/.

Zaabalawi and Zaabalawi ﻿Language Testing in Asia

(2024) 14:28

Traditional exams, however, have often been frowned upon as an inappropriate assessment tool (Dikli, 2003). A participant in a study conducted by Vigeant (2021) who criticized exams as an inadequate assessment method said, “A lot of times the stress of an
exam makes me do worse because I know it’s my only chance and if I’m wrong that’s it”(p. 6). Similarly, numerous students participating in the present study complained about
several flaws and issues with using exams as a tool to assess their academic performance.
They mentioned factors that, they admitted, could not be easily controlled, if at all, likestress, lack of sleep, illness, and anxiety, among others, which severely affected their performance on an exam and, subsequently, their final grade. Such a widely used assessment
tool, which places so much pressure on a single “exam day” that holds a substantial percentage weight of the final grade, can impact a student’s future since it is used by examiners to determine conclusively their students’ academic level (Ray, 2018). As a result, in
this paper, portfolio assessment, an alternative assessment tool, is proposed as a more
viable means of evaluating university students’ academic performance than exams.
Portfolio assessment is a method of assessing students’ academic performance bygiving them several assignments and/or projects to work on throughout the semester
to demonstrate their understanding of the course material (Blackbourn et al., 2004;
Vigeant, 2021). In some cases, students may be given the freedom to choose a certain
number of their assignments and/or projects out of the total number which go into theirgraded portfolios (Rodriguez et al., 2022). This contrasts greatly with exams, which are
typically given in the middle and/or at the end of the academic year/semester (Reeves,
2000), and include a set number of questions about the course material which must be
answered under exam conditions (Ray et al., 2018). Under such conditions, students are
only given a specific amount of time to complete the exam, e.g., 1 to 2 h, and are notusually allowed to refer to external resources. As opposed to assignments in a portfolio,
an exam normally makes up a relatively large portion of the final course grade (Vigeant,2021).
Portfolio assessment has become common in the last two decades as an alternative
assessment method favored by several educators over formal exams (Daud, 2017; Dung
& Ha, 2019; Strijbos et al., 2007). As for the recent developments regarding exams andportfolio assessment, it is to no surprise that the former is still the more popular assessment tool due to the relative recency of the latter (Abrar-ul-Hassan et al., 2021; Rayet al., 2018). Exam proponents claim that exams are quicker and easier to grade (Gomez,
2000). Other exam advocates maintain that in some countries, especially underdeveloped ones, exams may be the only assessment tool that can be used due to limited
resources and the educators’ intention to maintain a standardized evaluation of students’performance in government educational institutions (Daud, 2017). A further group recommending exams as an accurate and valid evaluation tool believes that exams are moresuitable for certain courses, e.g., history courses, as such disciplines are heavily based on
memorizing facts (Dikli, 2003; Reeves, 2000).
However, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, exams were placed under the spotlightas educators began to pose the question of their reliability and validity as an assessment
tool (Smith, 2021). This is because when lockdowns were first imposed in many countries in the spring of 2020, many schools around the globe were forced to cancel their
final exams as students could not sit them (Syafei et al., 2021). Consequently, schools

Page 2 of 13

Zaabalawi and Zaabalawi ﻿Language Testing in Asia

(2024) 14:28

had to come up with an alternative method of assessing students to give them their final
grades (Tang et al., 2021; Telyani et al., 2021). One common method that was used wascollating works that a student had produced throughout the school year and giving him/
her an average grade, similar to portfolio assessment (Revilla-Cuesta et al., 2021; Rodriguez et al., 2022). This placed alternative assessment tools in the limelight, and many
began to scrutinize exams as an assessment tool. Cairns (2021) discusses this state ofaffairs, stating that “extensive discourse about disruptions to the standardized examinations students take (…) is symbolic of their high-stakes status worldwide. The interruptions provide an opportune moment to question the efficacy of exams as a measurementof achievement” (p. 331).
With this in mind, in this paper, the reliability and efficacy of exams as an assessment
tool will be questioned, and portfolio assessment will be proposed as a potential alternative form of assessment for university students (see the “Methodology” section). Accordingly, the research question is as follows: Is portfolio assessment a generally more viable
method of evaluating university students’ academic performance than exams in terms of
the potential academic, mental health, and professional benefits which such an assessment affords students?
Sixty students at the American University of Sharjah participated in the present study.
They were required to complete a questionnaire consisting of 12 questions investigating the potential efficacy of portfolio assessment as opposed to exams. The questions
investigated specifically whether factors such as stress, anxiety, illness, and lack of sleep
affected their performance in exams. The questionnaire also investigated whether portfolios, as an alternative to exams, can equip students with the professional skills theyneed to succeed in their future careers and, therefore, whether portfolios are in general amore viable and appropriate method of assessing students’ academic proficiency.
This study comprises five sections. First, the “Literature review” examines several
research studies and discusses the state of portfolio assessment as adopted by various
educational institutions. Second, the “Methodology” sheds light on the data collection,
instruments, and procedures involved in the research process. Third, the “Results” section highlights the findings of the study after the participants’ responses to the questionnaire were scrutinized and statistically analyzed. Fourth, the “Discussion” section
presents an analysis of the results; pinpoints the efficacy of portfolio assessment, as
opposed to exams; and compares the results of this study with those reported in similar
studies. Finally, the “Conclusion” adds a final note to the findings of the research; offerssome recommendations for university professors, education experts, and examiners; andprovides some insights into future research investigation.

Literature review
History of assessment

According to O’Sullivan and Cheng (2022), the concept of exams originated in China
in the Sui Dynasty in 605 AD when Emperor Yang of Sui used an imperial examination system to hire government officials. However, the more modern concept of exams
known today was invented by American businessman and philanthropist Henry Fischelin the late nineteenth century (Britannica, 2019). The first real implementation of thiswas in the form of public exams that were administered in schools in England in 1858,

Page 3 of 13

Zaabalawi and Zaabalawi ﻿Language Testing in Asia

(2024) 14:28

as schools demanded a way to measure students’ academic performance. At the time,they made this request to the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford,
which produced these exams for local schoolboys to take. Only when the year 1867 camearound were girls allowed to sit public exams (“How have school exams,” 2008, para. 1).
To this day, as stated earlier, exams are used to assess students’ academic performancein primary, secondary, and tertiary education, and they remain the most widely usedassessment tool as once expected by educators (Ray et al., 2018; Struyven et al., 2006).
On the other hand, the concept of portfolios is relatively much more recent than theorigin of exams. According to Farrel (2020), this concept was initially seen in Renaissance Italy in the 1400 s, as artists collected and kept their works of art to form a portfolio (p. 2). It was only in the 1970s that portfolios made their way into higher education,
as there was “a move away from standardized testing, increased focus on quality assurance, and new research and theories of learning” (p. 2). Lam (2018) elaborates on this in
his book about the use of portfolio assessment for teaching and learning writing, stating that in the early 1970s, the writing exam in the General Certificate of Education in
the UK was replaced by a writing portfolio which was assessed instead (p. 4). He alsomentions how, earlier on, portfolio assessment was used in the fields of medical education, photography, and architecture, among others (p. 2). Portfolio assessment remains,to this day, one of the assessment tools used in these fields, as well as others, albeit not as
widely as exams (Ardjmand et al., 2020; Lam, 2019).
At this stage, it should be noted that there is not much research conducted on thepotential advantages of portfolio assessment over exams as a method of assessing students. However, the amount of literature currently available examines portfolio assessment in terms of the frequency and quality of feedback given, grading, detecting, andreducing academic dishonesty practices, the range of skills assessed, mental health andwell-being, and the advancement to the world of work. These elements are discussed in
the following sections.

Frequency and quality of feedback

Portfolio assessment provides opportunities for more frequent and more meaningful feedback than exams (Mathews, 2009). In this respect, the instructor can provide
suggestions for improvement when grading an assignment, and these tend to be moredetailed and helpful for the student’s self-reflection and improvement process (Lahmer,
2015; Nasab, 2015).
Williams (2002) states “portfolios offer students the opportunity to reflect on theirlearning” as opposed to exams, the traditional method of assessment in which, he adds,“students are rewarded for memorizing formulas and spitting back the lecture notes,
rather than making connections, reflecting on what their learning means, and deciding which areas in their learning need development” (pp. 204–205). Odabasi (2011) alsoemphasizes the advantages of portfolios which he believes assist in “guiding students
both at the beginning of and during the process, providing continuous and prompt feedback during the process and making self‐reflection (…) an essential part of the process”(p. 161). Lahmer (2015) reiterates this view, maintaining that portfolio assessment is atool for alerting students to work harder to avoid failure.

Page 4 of 13

Zaabalawi and Zaabalawi ﻿Language Testing in Asia

(2024) 14:28

This is easy to see when contrasted with exams, where the most a student can see,assuming he/she requests a paper view, is a cross, rarely accompanied with the correct
final answer written next to it or a comment, if the instructor is feeling generous (Rayet al., 2018). This may not be very helpful for the student, if at all, when trying to pinpoint areas of weakness that need improvement. Whereas with portfolio assessment,
the instructor cannot justify deducting marks from an assignment or project simply
by drawing a cross, which means he/she is much more likely to provide more substantial feedback in the form of a comment that details what exactly went wrong and whatneeds improvement (Mathews, 2009). Such valuable comments also come much more
frequently than feedback from exams, as the nature of portfolio assessment entails that a
student completes several assignments and/or projects that go into the portfolio, whichallows students to continuously improve throughout a semester (Syafei et al., 2021).
In a study conducted by Rodriguez et al. (2022), 6 groups of approximately 20 students
each were tasked with creating projects presented through portfolios to their professor.
The professor provided regular written feedback, which students found instrumental
in enhancing their projects through the professor’s “constructive approach” (p. 5). Thisapproach facilitated collaborative idea exchange among students and instructors, significantly enhancing their learning. After achieving success with their task, the students
decided to use their portfolio model as a guide for their future assignments.
The benefits of using portfolio assessment were further emphasized in a study carriedout by Obeiah and Bataineh (2016). In this study, two groups of students taking a writing
course were assessed: one using a traditional timed exam and the other using portfolio
assessment. The findings showed that the portfolio-assessed group not only had muchbetter writing performance but also had better focus and organization skills. One reason
for this was that they benefited from the feedback that they received during the writing
process by reflecting on their work to improve their first draft.
Lahmer (2015) also recognizes the benefits of portfolios to learners. She maintains
that “portfolios enable learners to see possibilities for reflection, redirection, and confirmation of their own learning efforts” (p. 170). Dalziel (2008), therefore, recommends thismethod, suggesting that students submit work that is still in development, which allows
the instructor to monitor their progress and provide them with guidance to further
develop their work into the final product (p. 207). To sum up, it is clear that portfolio
assessment, as opposed to exams, potentially presents far more opportunities for meaningful feedback, from which students can immensely benefit for improving their work.
Grading

As previously mentioned, portfolio assessment often offers much more detailed feedback compared to exams, which greatly benefits students (Mathews, 2009). However,Law and Eckes (2007) argue that this comes at a cost to the instructor who grades them:time and energy. While this might be true in the context of grading a single assignment
or project in a portfolio (Gomez, 2000), this argument may not hold true when considering the total amount of time spent grading in a semester compared to grading exams,
especially if there are exams at both the middle and the end of the semester (Ray et al.,2018). This is because an individual exam may be as long as 10 pages, if not more, which
may be longer than several assignments combined.

Page 5 of 13

Zaabalawi and Zaabalawi ﻿Language Testing in Asia

(2024) 14:28

With that said, it is important to note that it may be difficult to precisely quantify thetime taken grading exams versus grading assignments, as their lengths may differ fromone educational institute to another. However, it can be said with much more certainty
that what students learn from the feedback given is reflected in the fewer mistakes thatthey make in their later assignments, which can reduce the time taken to grade them
(Vigeant, 2021). Without a doubt, a paper that has all the right answers is much easierand quicker to tick through than a paper riddled with mistakes or half answers that may
or may not deserve partial credit, which can only be determined by careful inspection
and consulting the rubric or mark scheme. This is also the case with more writing-heavy
exams or assignments, as papers that have few to no mistakes tend to have much shorter
comments written when grading them like “good point,” rather than longer commentsthat have to point out any mistakes or anything missing from the written response. With
portfolio assessment’s more detailed feedback, it alone can benefit from the mentioned
time savings when grading assignments (Nasab, 2015). However, even if portfolio assessment were to consume a considerable amount of time to grade, it may not require substantially longer time than exams.
Vigeant (2021), for example, reports an instance at Bucknell University where students
took an online chemical engineering course in the spring semester of 2020 and were
given the choice to create a portfolio of materials demonstrating their mastery of thetaught syllabus instead of taking a final exam. The instructors of the course stated that“grading the portfolios was not significantly more time consuming than for the typical
final exam, although it should be noted that exams were graded in detail and checked
for partial credit, rather than being single answer rapidly-gradable questions” (p. 6). This
goes to show that grading portfolios is not deemed a major concern, especially when
considering the multiple benefits it provides.
Detecting and reducing academic dishonesty practices

Portfolio assessment can both detect and reduce academic dishonesty practices, including cheating and plagiarism, better than exams (Bishop & Cini, 2017). In one study of thebiggest contract cheating database that exists, Harper et al. (2021) report that students
were found to cheat the most in exams, especially in the multiple-choice format, eventhough this was detected the least by staff. This was almost in complete contrast with theresults reported about written assignments, like essays and reports, where they foundthat students cheated less, but staff were much more successful in detecting their cheating attempts (p. 263). This goes to show that attempts of cheating in assignments thatare given as part of portfolio assessment can be much easier to detect than those done inexams. This makes sense, as exam questions, in many cases, tend to have either a multiple-choice format or a short answer format that is either right or wrong (Reeves, 2000).
Thus, if a student were to copy the correct answer from a friend, assuming he/she was
not seen by an invigilator, then it would be very hard to detect. Whereas in assignments,
or even projects, students’ answers tend to be much more subjective and personalized,
making it a lot easier to detect any attempt of copying another student’s work, as it isalmost impossible for two students to produce the same answer with the same wordingused (Ray et al., 2018). Therefore, it is clear that portfolio assessment can well make it alot easier to detect attempts of cheating than exams.

Page 6 of 13

Zaabalawi and Zaabalawi ﻿Language Testing in Asia

(2024) 14:28

Furthermore, Dalziel (2008) contends that portfolio assessment can be effectively
used to reduce plagiarism. This can be done by preventing one of the causes of plagiarism, being last-minute panics. These can be avoided by making work-in-progress drafts
a mandatory part of the assignment submission, which forces students to begin working early on and avoid procrastinating until the last minute (p. 207). Instructors may
even decide to only give feedback on these drafts and not grade them, further reducing the aforementioned last-minute panics due to the lower-risk nature associated with
ungraded work. Moreover, instructors can encourage students to produce original workby allowing them to add their personal experience with the topic as part of the assignment (p. 208). All in all, it can be seen that portfolio assessment can be much more effective than exams at reducing plagiarism in works submitted.
Range of skills assessed

When it comes to the range of skills that can be tested, portfolio assessment can assessa much wider range of skills than exams where students are largely tested on their ability to commit teaching material to memory (Williams, 2002). In portfolio assessment,
students’ skills are much better represented, beyond just memorization skills. Skills likecreativity and innovation, which are just as important, can be effectively demonstrated
by students in the assignments or projects that they complete (Cunningham et al., 2016;Rodriguez et al., 2022). Whereas when traditional exams are used, students with suchskills who may have weaker memorization skills than their peers tend to perform badly
and are often considered outcasts or failures compared to them (Leon & Elias, 2016, p.
21). This may cause these students to have lower self-esteem and may even cause theirperformance to decline (p. 22).
Mental health and well‑being

A decreased level of stress and improved mental health and well-being are usually associated with students who are tested by means of portfolio assessment instead of exams,
which can lead to better grades (Howard, 2020; Jerrim, 2023). A study carried out by
Slater et al. (1997) found that students tested using portfolio assessment were less anxious and enjoyed the learning experience more (p. 255). Moreover, due to the lower final
grade percentage weight allocated to each assignment in a student’s portfolio, the risk
associated with each assignment is minimized, and thus, the stress and anxiety levelsof students can be reduced, which can help them perform better (Vigeant, 2021). Conversely, Trifoni and Shahini (2011) maintain, in a study involving a questionnaire completed by university students, that test anxiety has several unfavorable impacts. It “affects
motivation, concentration and achievement negatively, increases errors during the exam,
creates problems recalling the material previously learned and prevents efficient study”(p. 99). They, therefore, propose replacing exams with alternative assessment tools thatcreate less anxiety in students.
Advancement to the world of work

Considering that the end goal of most students who partake in the journey of education is to secure a good job, it is crucial to consider which method of assessment better prepares them for achieving that goal. Since portfolio assessment is based on doing

Page 7 of 13

Zaabalawi and Zaabalawi ﻿Language Testing in Asia

(2024) 14:28

assignments and/or projects where students are allowed to refer to external resources,
like the Internet, it much more resembles the type of work typically done in jobs, being
tasks and projects (Eliot & Turns, 2011). Therefore, the type and style of work experienced through portfolio assessment are much more practical and realistic than thoseseen in exams, which can facilitate students’ transition into the world of work (Dung &Ha, 2019). Furthermore, portfolio assessment teaches students how to become autonomous learners since now they are usually given the opportunity to select their own topics and references, collect data, and discuss the results from their respective perspectives(Hancock, 2004). This is essential, as autonomy at work is sometimes deemed an asset
added to the job seeker’s qualifications (Rodriguez et al., 2022).

Methodology
As stated in the literature review, several scholars have previously discussed portfolios as an effective tool for assessing learners’ academic performance (Janssens et al.,
2002; Tiwari & Tang, 2003). However, little evidence, if ever, has been provided on theactual value and efficacy of such an assessment method (Rodriguez et al., 2022), hence
the originality of this study, which seeks to evaluate the potential efficacy of portfolio
assessment and the extent to which this method can be considered a better assessment
tool than exams. To this end, a questionnaire was devised and distributed to a cohort ofsixty 20–22-year-old students in the College of Engineering at the American Universityof Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The questionnaire contained 12 questions concerning the positive or negative effects of these two methods on the students’ academic
performance. The questions were specifically related to the social circumstances underwhich students’ proficiency is assessed and the practical skills they acquire as a result of
the assessment method used.
To ensure clarity and completeness in responses, researchers maintained frequent
communication with participants, urging them to address all questions thoroughly.
Additionally, participants were provided with a detailed explanation of the portfolio assessment concept, despite their familiarity with it due to prior exposure in othercourses. Creating a comfortable environment further facilitated honest responses, withstudents assured of anonymity and encouraged to take their time. Some respondents
returned completed questionnaires promptly, while others took additional time forthoughtful reflection. The questionnaire is presented in Appendix I with a numericalsummary of the students’ responses provided in Appendix II.
The analysis of this study is based on the proportion of students who responded to thequestionnaire. A binomial distribution was utilized to assess the proportion of students
favoring specific responses over others. Then, hypothesis tests were carried out to determine if this proportion was at least 50%, with a 95% confidence level (alpha = 0.05), supporting the study’s proposition that students prefer portfolio assessment to exams. The
results of the analysis are presented in Appendix III.
Results
The first section of the questionnaire entailed seven questions in relation to exams. As
demonstrated in the table in Appendix III, when students were asked about the fairnessof using final exams to evaluate their performance, 53.3% responded negatively, while

Page 8 of 13

Zaabalawi and Zaabalawi ﻿Language Testing in Asia

(2024) 14:28

46.7% responded positively. The p-value of the Z-test, 0.699, showed that students wereindifferent regarding the fairness of exams as an assessment tool. Concerning the accuracy of exams, 76.7% of students believed exams were inaccurate, compared to 23.3%
who found them accurate (p-value < 0.001). This finding supports the proposition
that exams are not perceived by students as accurate indicators of their performance.
Moreover, exam-induced stress was a notable concern, with 95% of students reportingthat exam anxiety had adversely affected their performance (p-value < 0.001), underscoring the negative impact of exams on students’ well-being and academic outcomes.
Further investigation of the adverse effects of exams revealed that a significant 77.2%of students believed that their performance on some, most, or all of their exams was
negatively impacted by exam-induced stress or anxiety (p-value 0.033). Additionally,
83.3% attributed poor performance to illness or lack of sleep, with a significant p-valueof < 0.001, and 80.8% acknowledged that this issue arose during some, most, or all exams(p-value < 0.001). When asked if exams should contribute to 35% of a student’s overall
performance, 83% of students believed this contribution proportion should be lower(p-value < 0.001), indicating their dissatisfaction with the overreliance on exams as ameans of assessment.
In the second section of the questionnaire, students were asked five questions pertaining to the topic of portfolio assessment. When asked which assessment method would
assess a broader range of skills, 91.7% of them advocated for assignments/projects as
better alternatives to one or two exams (p-value < 0.001). Regarding academic dishonesty, 41.7% of them indicated that they would cheat in both assignments/projects andexams, and the p-value of 0.052 confirmed their indifference. In terms of preparation
for the labor market, 95% of students believed that portfolio assessment better equipped
them for future careers compared to exams (p-value < 0.001). Overall, in support of
portfolio assessment, 90.0% of students believed that some, most, or all of their courses
should utilize portfolio assessment over exams, with a p-value of 0.519 indicating aneven split among students who believe few, some, most, or all courses should use portfolio assessment. Lastly, all the above findings were reinforced when 76.7% of students
finally expressed a preference for portfolio assessment over exams as an assessment
method (p-value < 0.001).

Discussion
The questionnaire results reveal a strong student preference for portfolio assessment
over exams. While opinions on the fairness of exams are split, the majority of students
perceive exams as inaccurate and stress-inducing, negatively impacting their performance and well-being. In addition, students overwhelmingly support portfolio assessment, believing it better evaluates a broader range of skills and better prepares them forthe labor market, and that it should even be used in some, most, or all of their courses
over exams as an assessment tool. Despite concerns about academic dishonesty being
similar across both methods, 76.7% of students favor portfolio assessment, indicating aclear preference for this method of evaluation.
The findings of this study align closely with those highlighted in the “Literature
review.” They are consistent with the results of the study by Rodriguez et al. (2022),
which revealed that portfolio-based projects benefit significantly from ongoing, timely

Page 9 of 13

Zaabalawi and Zaabalawi ﻿Language Testing in Asia

(2024) 14:28

feedback from instructors, which fosters skills such as creativity and problem-solving.
They, moreover, maintained that the portfolio assessment methodology encouraged peeridea exchange, facilitated the utilization of students’ prior knowledge, and contributed
to overall enhancements in learning outcomes. Also, in line with our study’s findings arethose reported in Obeiah’s and Bataineh’s (2016) study. They highlighted that students
assessed through portfolio assessment outperformed those evaluated via traditional
exams in writing assignments. This was attributed to the former groups benefiting from
regular feedback and guidance throughout the writing process. Consistent with the findings of this study are also those stated by Trifoni and Shahini (2011) who observed thatanxiety impairs students’ concentration and academic performance, leading to increased
errors and lower grades. All this emphasizes the value of employing portfolio assessment
as a method for evaluating students’ academic performance, rather than relying on formal exams.

Conclusion
Overall, it is apparent that portfolio assessment is a more viable tool to assess students’
academic performance than exams due to several advantages. Firstly, it allows instructors to monitor students’ performance throughout a semester, which allows them toprovide valuable feedback for improvement. Secondly, the use of portfolio assessment
instead of exams can reduce students’ stress and anxiety levels that are caused by thehigh-stakes nature of exams, which translates into better performance for the students. Thirdly, portfolio assessment is capable of assessing a wider range of skills thanexams, beyond just memorization skills, which better represents students’ skills. Moreover, despite concerns over cheating attempts still being prevalent among students withregard to portfolio assessment in a similar fashion to exams, the overwhelming majorityof students still prefer the former over the latter. Furthermore, the assignments and projects given as part of portfolio assessment much more closely resemble what the work islike in the world of work, which facilitates students’ transition to it.
All the above goes to show that portfolio assessment is a more viable method forassessing students’ academic proficiency than exams. Accordingly, universities and otherhigher education institutions are advised to adopt this assessment method if they are toestablish a reliable and effective assessment system that enables students to learn effectively and be evaluated in a more relaxed, fair, academic, and professional environment.
Future research could focus on pre-tertiary education by exploring whether portfolio
assessment could also serve as a superior assessment tool compared to exams in schools
considering the various unfavorable effects that exams impose on students.
Limitations of the study
As outlined in the “Methodology” section, the study included 60 participants aged
between 20 and 22, all enrolled in the College of Engineering at the American University of Sharjah. Notably, variables such as gender, academic major, employment status,and pre-university education background were not factored into the data collection process. Additionally, due to the study’s focus on engineering, it remains uncertain whether
the findings can be extrapolated to students in humanities disciplines. Furthermore, thequestionnaire used in this research was exclusively completed by students; assessing

Page 10 of 13

Zaabalawi and Zaabalawi ﻿Language Testing in Asia

(2024) 14:28

instructors’ responses was outside the study’s scope. For future investigations, incorporating instructors’ input could offer valuable insights, allowing for comparisons between
student and instructor perspectives and exploring potential overlaps.

Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at https://​doi.​org/​10.​1186/​s40468-​024-​00296-y.
Appendix I: Questionnaire
Appendix II: Questionnaire Results Numerical Summary
Appendix III: Questionnaire Results Statistical Analysis
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all students who willingly participated in completing the questionnaire which had beendevised for the purpose of this research. Without their contribution, this work would not have been possible. We would
also like to extend our sincere thanks to Professor Husni Hamdy, former Head of the Department of Statistics at the
University of Kuwait, for his invaluable assistance with the statistical analysis. His expertise in this field is immeasurable.
Authors’ contributions
RZ conducted the major part of the research, provided all relevant citations after reading all the works consulted, anddrafted the reference page. JZ devised the questionnaire and interpreted the data. Both discussed the results and concluded the article. Finally, both read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
Not applicable.
Availability of data and materials
The questionnaire is included in Appendix I, a numerical summary of the data in Appendix II, and the study’s statisticalanalysis in Appendix III.

Declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Received: 29 May 2024 Accepted: 21 June 2024

References
Abrar-ul-Hassan, S., Douglas, D., & Turner, J. (2021). Revisiting second language portfolio assessment in a new age. Elsevier,
System, 103, 1–9. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​system.​2021.​102652
Al-Hawamdeh, B.O.S., Hussen, N., & Abdelrasheed, N.S.G. (2023). Portfolio vs. summative assessment: Impacts on EFL
learners’ writing complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF); self-efficacy; learning anxiety; and autonomy. Language
Testing in Asia, 13(12). https://​doi.​org/​10.​1186/​s40468-​023-​00225-5
Ardjmand, E., Stowe, D. L., & Stowe, J. D. (2020). Using portfolio theory to design better exams. Journal of Financial Education, 46(2), 271–297. https://​www.​jstor.​org/​stable/​48646​935
Bishop, M. J., & Cini, M. (2017). Academic dishonesty and online education (part 2): Strategies for supporting academic
honesty in the digital age. The Evolllution. https://​evoll​lution.​com/​reven​ue-​strea​ms/​dista​nce_​online_​learn​ing/​acade​mic-​disho​nesty-​and-​online-​educa​tion-​part-2-​strat​egies-​for-​suppo​rting-​acade​mic-​hones​ty-​in-​the-​digit​al-​age
Blackbourn, J. M., Thomas, C., Britt, P., Blackbourn, R., Papason, B., & Tyler, J. L. (2004). Portfolio assessment: A guide forteachers and administrators. National Forum of Educational Administration and Supervision Journal, 23(4), 1–8.
Bordoh, A., Eshun, I., Quarshie, M., Bassaw, T.K., & Kwarteng, P. (2015). Social studies teachers’ knowledge base in authentic
assessment in selected senior high schools in the central region of Ghana. Journal of Social Science and Humanities,
1(3), 249–257. https://​api.​seman​ticsc​holar.​org/​Corpu​sID:​21116​6744
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2019). Chinese examination system. Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed 15 September 2023. https://​www.​brita​nnica.​com/​topic/​Chine​se-​exami​nation-​system
Cairns, R. (2021). Exams tested by Covid-19: An opportunity to rethink standardized senior secondary examinations.
Prospects, 51(1–3), 331–345. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​s11125-​020-​09515-9
Cunningham, P., Morelock, J., & Matusovich, H. M. (2016). Beginning to understand and promote engineering students’
metacognitive development. Proceedings of American Society for Engineering Education Annual Meeting. https://​doi.​
org/​10.​18260/p.​26372
Dalziel, C. (2008). Using eportfolios to combat plagiarism. Proceedings ascilite Melbourne 2008, 206–210. http://​www.​ascil​
ite.​org.​au/​confe​rences/​melbo​urne08/​procs/​dalzi​el.​pdf

Page 11 of 13

Zaabalawi and Zaabalawi ﻿Language Testing in Asia

(2024) 14:28

Daud, A. (2017). Challenges of using portfolio assessment as an alternative assessment method for teaching English inIndonesian schools. International Journal of Educational Best Practices, 1(2), 106–114. https://​doi.​org/​10.​31258/​ijebp.​
v1n2.​p106-​114
Dikli, S. (2003). Assessment at a distance: Traditional vs. alternative assessments. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational
Technology, 2(3), 13–19. https://​eric.​ed.​gov/?​id=​EJ110​1956
Dung, L. Q., & Ha, N. T. D. (2019). Portfolio – An alternative form of assessment in EFL context. International Journal of
Scientific and Research Publications, 9(1), 439–445. https://​doi.​org/​10.​29322/​IJSRP.9.​01.​2019.​p8557
Eliot, M., & Turns, J. (2011). Constructing professional portfolios: Sense-making and professional identity development
for engineering undergraduates. The Research Journal for Engineering Education, 100(4), 630–654. https://​doi.​org/​10.​
1002/j.​2168-​9830.​2011.​tb000​30.x
Farrell, O. (2020). From portafoglio to eportfolio: The evolution of portfolio in higher education. Journal of Interactive
Media in Education, 2020(1), 1–14. https://​doi.​org/​10.​5334/​jime.​574
Gomez, E. (2000). Assessment portfolios: Including English language learners in large-scale assessments. Eric Digest, 1–8.
www.​cal.​org/​resou​rces/​digest/​0010a​ssess​ment.​html
Hancock, R.C. (2004). Alternative assessment and second language study: What and why. Eric Digest, 1–7. www.​cal.​org/​
resou​rces/​digest/​hanco​c01.​html
Harper, R., Bretag, T., & Rundle, K. (2021). Detecting contract cheating: Examining the role of assessment type. Higher
Education Research & Development, 40(2), 263–278. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1080/​07294​360.​2020.​17248​99
Howard, E. (2020). A review of the literature concerning anxiety for educational assessments. Ofqual research report. https://​assets.​publi​shing.​servi​ce.​gov.​uk/​gover​nment/​uploa​ds/​system/​uploa​ds/​attac​hment_​data/​file/​865832/​A_​review_​
of_​the_​liter​ature_​conce​rning_​anxie​ty_​for_​educa​tional_​asses​sment.​pdf
How have school exams changed over the past 150 years? (2008). Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Accessed 28 August 2023. https://​www.​cambr​idgea​ssess​ment.​org.​uk/​news/​how-​have-​school-​exams-​chang​
ed-​over-​the-​past-​150-​years/
Janssens, S., Boes, W., & Wante, D. (2002). Portfolio: Een instrument voor toetsing en begeleiding[Portfolio: An instrument
for evaluation and assessment]. In F. Dochy, L. Heylen, & H. Van de Mosselaer (Eds.), Assessment in onderwijs [Assessment within education] (pp. 203–224). Lemma; Utrecht.
Jerrim, J. (2023). Test anxiety: Is it associated with performance in high-stakes examinations? Oxford Review of Education,49(3), 321–341. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1080/​03054​985.​2022.​20796​16
Lafuente-Ruiz-de-Sabando, M., Zorrilla, P., & Forcada, J. (2018). A review of higher education image and reputation literature: Knowledge gaps and a research agenda. Elsevier, European Research on Management and Business Economics,
24(1), 8–16. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​iedeen.​2017.​06.​005
Lahmer, M. (2015). The use of portfolio as an assessment tool. International Journal of Scientific and Technology Research,
4(7), 170–172. https://​www.​resea​rchga​te.​net/​publi​cation/​35518​5881_​The_​Use_​Of_​Portf​olio_​As_​An_​Asses​sment_​
Tool
Lam, R. (2018). Portfolio assessment for the teaching and learning of writing. Springer. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​
978-​981-​13-​1174-1
Lam, R. (2019). Writing portfolio assessment in practice: Individual, institutional, and systemic issues. Pedagogies: An
International Journal, 15(3), 169–182. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1080/​15544​80X.​2019.​16961​97
Law, B. & Eckes, M. (2007). Assessment and ESL: An alternative approach. Peguis Publishers.
Leon, S., & Elias, M. (2016). A comparison of portfolio, performance, and traditional assessment in the middle school.
Research in Middle Level Education Quarterly, 21(2), 21–37. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1080/​10848​959.​1998.​11670​118
Logsdon, S. (2022, November 29). Final projects leave students better off. The Daily Iowan. https://​daily​iowan.​com/​2022/​
11/​29/​opini​on-​final-​proje​cts-​leave-​stude​nts-​better-​off-​heres-​why/
Mathews, J. (2009). Portfolio assessment. Education Next, 4(3). https://​www.​educa​tionn​ext.​org/​portf​olio-​asses​sment/
Nasab, F. G. (2015). Alternative versus traditional assessment. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 2(6),165–178. http://​www.​jallr.​ir
Obeiah, S. F., & Bataineh, R. F. (2016). The effect of portfolio-based assessment on Jordanian EFL learners’ writing performance. Bellaterra Journal of Teaching & Learning Language & Literature, 9(1), 32–46. https://​doi.​org/​10.​5565/​rev/​jtl3.​629
Odabasi Cimer, S. (2011). The effect of portfolios on students’ learning: Student teachers’ views. European Journal of
Teacher Education, 34(11), 161–176. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1080/​02619​768.​2011.​5521
O’Sullivan, B., & Cheng, L. (2022). Lessons from the Chinese imperial examination system. Language Testing in Asia 12(52).
https://​doi.​org/​10.​1186/​s40468-​022-​00201-5
Ray, M. E., Daugherty, K. K., Lebovitz, L., Rudolph, M. J., Shuford, V. P., & DiVall, M. V. (2018). Best practices on examination construction, administration, and feedback. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 82(10), 1127–1132.
https://​doi.​org/​10.​5688/​ajpe7​066
Reeves, T. C. (2000). Alternative assessment approaches for online learning environments in higher education. Educational Computing Research, 3(1), 101–111. https://​doi.​org/​10.​2190/​GYMQ-​78FA-​WMTX-​J06C
Revilla-Cuesta, V., Skaf, M., Varona, J. M., & Ortega-López, V. (2021). The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and its social
impact on education: Were engineering teachers ready to teach online? International Journal of Environmental
Research and Public Health, 18(4), 21–27. https://​doi.​org/​10.​3390/​ijerp​h1804​2127
Rodriguez, R., Martinez-Ulloa, L., & Flores-Bustos, C. (2022). E-portfolio as an evaluative tool for emergency virtual education: Analysis of the case of the University Andres Bello (Chile) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1–10. https://​doi.​org/​10.​3389/​fpsyg.​2022.​892278
Slater, T. F., Ryan, J. M., & Samson, S. L. (1997). Impact and dynamics of portfolio assessment and traditional assessment ina college physics course. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 34(3), 255–271. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1002/​(SICI)​1098-​
2736(199703)​34:3%​3c255::​AID-​TEA4%​3e3.0.​CO;2-R
Sletten, S. R. (2021). Rethinking assessment: Replacing traditional exams. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 22(2),1–4. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1128/​jmbe.​00109-​21

Page 12 of 13

Zaabalawi and Zaabalawi ﻿Language Testing in Asia

(2024) 14:28

Smith, K. (2021). Provocation 4: Educating for the future—Reflections from COVID-19 lockdown. In: Wyatt-Smith, C., Adie,
L., Nuttall, J. (Eds.). Teaching performance assessments as a cultural disruptor in initial teacher Education (pp 181–184).
Teacher education, learning innovation, and accountability. Springer. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​978-​981-​16-​3705-6_​13
Strijbos, J., Meeus, W., & Libotton, A. (2007). Portfolio assignments in teacher education: A tool for self-regulating thelearning process? International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 1(2), 1–16.
Struyven, K., Dochy, F., Janssens, S., Schelfhou, W., & Gielen, S. (2006). The overall effects of end-of-course assessment on
student performance: A comparison between multiple choice testing, peer assessment, case-based assessment
and portfolio assessment. Elsevier, Studies in Educational Evaluation, 32(3), 202–222. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​stued​uc.​
2006.​08.​002
Syafei,, M., Mujiyanto, J., Yuliasri, I., & Pratama, H. (2021). Students’ perception of the application of portfolio assessment
during the COVID-19 pandemic. KnE Social Sciences, 61–70. https://​doi.​org/​10.​18502/​kss.​v5i7.​9320
Tamuliene, V., & Murzaite, R. (2013). The influence of higher education image on students’ loyalty in Lithuania. Elsevier,Transformation in Business and Economics, 12(2), 196–214. https://​www.​resea​rchga​te.​net/​publi​cation/​28593​4203
Tang, Y. M., Chen, P. C., Law, K. M. Y., Wu, C. H., Lay, Y.-Y., Guan, J., He, D., & Ho, G. T. S. (2021). Comparative analysis of student’s live online learning readiness during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the higher education sector.
Elsevier, Computers and Education, 168(104211), 1–17. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​compe​du.​2021.​104211
Telyani, A. E., Farmanesh, P., & Zargar, P. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 instigated changes on loneliness of teachersand motivation–engagement of students: A psychological analysis of education sector. Frontiers in Psychology,
12(765180), 1–6. https://​doi.​org/​10.​3389/​fpsyg.​2021.​765180
Tiwari, A., & Tang, C. (2003). From process to outcome: The effect of portfolio assessment on student learning. Elsevier,Nurse Education Today, 23(4), 269–277. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​S0260-​6917(03)​00012-1
Trifoni, A., & Shahini, M. (2011). How does exam anxiety affect the performance of university students? Mediterranean
Journal of Social Sciences, 2(2), 93–100. https://​www.​resea​rchga​te.​net/​publi​cation/​28531​5485_​How_​Does_​Exam_​
Anxie​ty_​Affect_​the_​Perfo​rmance_​of_​Unive​rsity_​Stude​nts
Vigeant, M. (2021). A portfolio replacement for a traditional final exam in thermodynamics. Elsevier, Education for Chemical
Engineers, 35, 1–6. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​ece.​2020.​11.​010
Williams, J. (2002). The engineering portfolio: Communication, reflection, and student learning outcomes assessment.
International Journal of Engineering Education, 18(2), 199–207. https://​www.​ijee.​ie/

Publisher’s NoteSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Page 13 of 13