PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT: Its Pros and Cons

The Pros of Using a Portfolio Assessment

1. A portfolio assessment demonstrates learning over the course of time rather than what a student knows a particular day.

2. A portfolio assessment provides an opportunity for a student to reflect on their learning, to self assess, and to formulate a deeper understanding of the concepts they are learning beyond a simple surface explanation.

3. A portfolio assessment requires a great level of individual interaction between the student and teacher wherein they are always collaborating about the requirements and components going into the portfolio.

The Cons of Using a Portfolio Assessment

1. Developing and assessing a portfolio is time-consuming. It takes a lot of effort from both the teacher and the student and is a demanding endeavor in which you can quickly fall behind.

2. Portfolio assessments are very subjective in nature. Even if the teacher utilizes a rubric, the individualized nature of a portfolio makes it difficult to remain objective and stick to the rubric. Two students working on the same learning standard may have two totally different approaches thus learning may not be the same.