The portfolio process can prompt teachers to reflect on themselves and their practice on a regular and continuing basis. Portfolios also have value as facilitators of shared or collaborative evaluation . Student teachers, interns, school and university personnel work together in the portfolio process. By means of their portfolios, it is possible for teachers to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, talents, and interests that contribute to their unique teaching qualifications. Conscientiously prepared portfolios that illustrate teachers' competencies enable assessment and evaluation that is fair, meaningful, and grounded in authentic teaching activity.
Portfolios also facilitate personal and collaborative goal setting .
Goal setting is critical to effective evaluation in that it can be the primary means through which teachers shape their growth. Goals can be set individually or in consultation with others, usually those with more experience and or expertise. Through a cycle of goal setting, striving to meet those goals, recognizing achievement, and subsequently revising those goals or setting new ones, portfolio development can ultimately lead to improvement in teaching and generally advanced professional development. Additional value is attributed to the portfolio itself, the product. Each teacher's portfolio is a display of individual goals, growth, and achievement , as well as a testimony to acquired knowledge, and professional and personal attributes.