Though the topic needs little explaining to Kentucky teachers, writing portfolios remain somewhat mysterious to many teachers elsewhere. Shannon Tolbert and Dewey Hensley could make a career of this workshop, which describes the thinking behind and implementation of writing portfolios at several grade levels. Many schools and teachers help students keep writing portfolios every year, but formal assessments are done only in fourth, seventh, and twelfth grades.
Portfolios collect writing samples that range across different subjects and purposes.
Although books reports and research papers still have a place in the classroom, much of the writing that goes into a Kentucky portfolio is transactive and real-world based, intended to help students prepare for the writing they'll be doing when they leave school. As Hensley says, you'll find they don't have much in common. That's why Kentucky students get such assignments as writing stories for their school newspapers, letters to parents, proposals to student councils, or brochures to introduce newcomers to their communities. A special, simplified version of the rubric has been created for young students, and a booklet for parents explains the writing program's goals and ways parents can help their children become better writers. For more information, see the Kentucky Department of Education Web site.