But it is not fair to point the finger at educators who are dedicated, hard-working professionals under constant scrutiny. In our district, for example, we are discussing issues involved in performance-based teacher assessment using professional portfolios, in addition to student portfolios. Mr. Berger reduces portfolios to a folder in which students keep their work. But they are much more than collections of completed work. Portfolios can and do include video and audio tapes, reading samples, student auditions, various genres in states of semicompletion, graded tests, lists of printed material read and reactions to those works, journals, goals, lists, descriptions of service to the community, organizations the student has joined, awards, and other examples of the student's growth in reading, writing, thinking, expressing, living, and learning.
Portfolios are an authentic component that can be added to the whole assessment process.
Longitudinal growth and progress can be reviewed and observed. In addition, when used properly, they encourage self-reflection and advance the notion that learning happens over time. Portfolios also promote peer evaluation and the use of mentor reviewing and assessing with the teachers and students. Students have more involvement in their own learning. They are a component of the assessment cycle, and not an end in themselves as Mr. Berger's Commentary suggests.