Over the last few years, schools have adopted new ways to asssess students' learning. Called alternative, authentic, or performance assessments, these new measures require students to solve realistic problems or accomplish a complex task. One of the most common forms of alternative assessment is the student portfolio.
Portfolios are more than student folders.
They contain several samples of student work assembled over time to demonstrate students' growth and achievement. Portfolios often contain pieces that represent work in progress, samples of students' best work, students' reflections about their products, and the criteria used to judge students work samples. The goal of the portfolio will determine its content. For instance, a portfolio established to document improvement over a semester will contain different items from a portfolio to be evaluated for high school graduation. In this way you can work out the details, introduce students and parents to portfolios and then demonstrate the hardware and software students will use.