ED385608 Apr 94 Teacher Portfolio Assessment. ERIC/AE Digest.
Author: Doolittle, Peter
ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation, Washington, DC.
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If you are a teacher, are you a good teacher? Would you like to be a
better teacher? If you are an administrator, are the teachers for whom
you are responsible doing a good job? Assessing the productivity,
efficiency and effectiveness of teachers is a formidable task. While
the National Teacher's Exam may provide a minimum criterion for the
certification of teachers, it is not meant to be used as a measure of
teacher effectiveness. One method for assessing teacher performance is
the teacher portfolio.
WHAT IS A TEACHER PORTFOLIO?
A teacher portfolio is a collection of work produced by a teacher.
Just as an artist uses a portfolio of collected works to illustrate
his or her talents, a teacher portfolio is designed to demonstrate the
teacher's talents. Thus, teacher portfolios are constructed by
teachers to highlight and demonstrate their knowledge and skills in
teaching. A portfolio also provides a means for reflection; it offers
the opportunity for critiquing one's work and evaluating the
effectiveness of lessons or interpersonal interactions with students
or peers.
What is actually included or related in a teacher portfolio depends on
how the portfolio will be used. A portfolio may include some or all of
the following:
* Teacher background.
* Class description: time, grade and content.
* Written examinations: National Teacher's Exam, State licensure
tests.
* A personal statement of teaching philosophy and goals.
* Documentation of effort to improve one's teaching: seminars,
programs, etc.
* Implemented lesson plans, handouts and notes.
* Graded student work such as tests, quizzes and class projects.
* Video/audio tape of classroom lessons.
* Colleague observation records.
* Written reflections on teaching.
* Photographs of bulletin boards, chalkboards or projects.
A common misconception is that a teacher portfolio is a folder laden
with teaching artifacts and evaluations. Ideally, a teacher portfolio
is a document created by the teacher that reveals, relates and
describes the teacher's duties, expertise and growth in teaching. Each
assertion in the portfolio is then documented in an appendix or a
reference to outside material, such as videotapes or lengthy
interviews. The size of a portfolio varies, but it is typically two to
ten pages, plus appendices.
HOW IS A TEACHER PORTFOLIO USED?
A teacher portfolio is an education tool, which is primarily used in
two ways. First, portfolios are used as a means of authentic
assessment in evaluating the effectiveness of a teacher for licensure
and/or employment decisions. Second, teacher portfolios are used to
provide feedback to teachers so that they may improve their teaching
and level of professionalism.
As a form of authentic assessment, teacher portfolios may play a major
role in the overall evaluation of a teacher. Numerous universities,
such as the University of Colorado at Boulder, Marquette University
and Murray State University, now use portfolios to make personnel
decisions. Many other States and institutions use teacher portfolios
to augment more traditional assessment measures, such as standardized
tests and observation checklists.
However, the use of teacher portfolios for high-stakes decisions, such
as certification and advancement, is not universally endorsed. The
reasons for caution often cited include the subjectivity involved in
evaluating portfolios, the variability in content and construction of
portfolios, and the lack of consensus in what a teacher should know
and be able to do.
The majority of the programs that use teacher portfolios are
preservice teacher education programs. These programs use portfolios
to increase reflection and provide an ongoing record of a teacher's
growth. The portfolio provides a vehicle for assessing the
relationship between teacher choices or actions and their outcomes. In
addition, teachers are encouraged to share their portfolios, during
construction, with both beginning and experienced teachers. This
continuous dialogue is designed to provide a rich context in which to
experience the multifaceted nature of teaching.
HOW IS A TEACHER PORTFOLIO EVALUATED?
Portfolios that are used to make personnel decisions tend to come
under a higher level of scrutiny than if the intended use is
professional growth. This scrutiny is due to the importance of the
consequences involved in using portfolios for personnel decisions, and
has resulted in several concerns. Most often cited areas of concern
are the flexibility and subjectivity of the portfolio.
The construction of a portfolio is such that each portfolio is unique
and tailored to the individual. As a tool for professional
development, this is a positive feature; as a tool for arriving at
personnel decisions, where comparability between teachers (often from
different subject areas) is desired, the lack of standardization is a
problem.
The lack of, or need for, standardization can be rectified by
requiring certain items in the portfolio of a teacher seeking a
position or to advance. Other items may be included at the teacher's
discretion. Mandated items typically include:
* Statement of teaching responsibilities.
* Statement of teaching philosophies and methodologies.
* Description of efforts to improve one's teaching.
* Representative course syllabi.
* Summary of institutional instructor evaluations by students.
The second concern of portfolio assessment, the subjectivity in the
evaluation of the portfolio, is somewhat problematic. Teacher
evaluation, in any form, is subjective. The question then becomes how
to make the evaluation of portfolios as reliable and valid as
possible, given their subjective nature.
Often, the solution is to use a Likert-type evaluation form, of
predetermined qualities, based on the mandated items.
Questions are then grouped into categories, such as Instructional
Design, Course Management and Content Expertise, and weighted. Ratings
may then be combined to generate categorical and/or overall ratings.
STEPS FOR IMPLEMENTING A PORTFOLIO PROGRAM
1. Start slowly. Instituting portfolio assessment, either for
advancement or growth, takes time. Allow one to two years for
development, implementation and regulation of a portfolio program.
2. Gain acceptance. It is extremely important that both administrators
and teachers accept the use of portfolios. If administrators do not
relate the importance and usefulness of portfolios to their teachers,
the project will fail. Likewise, if teachers do not value the
portfolio approach, then they will not put forth the effort needed to
ensure success.
3. Instill ownership. Teachers must be involved, from the beginning,
in developing the portfolio program. They must feel ownership over the
program's direction and use.
4. Communicate implementation. The teachers need to know, explicitly,
how the portfolios will be used. If they will be used for advancement,
then the expected structure and intended scoring methods need to be
explained in detail.
5. Use models. Models of portfolios used by other institutions are
readily available (see Seldin and Associates, 1993). These models may
easily be adapted and provide examples for teachers developing their
portfolio.
6. Be selective. Portfolios should not contain everything a teacher
does. A portfolio contains carefully selected items that reflect and
substantiate a teacher's expertise and achievements.
7. Be realistic. Portfolios are only one form of authentic assessment.
As such, they should be used as a part of the assessment process, in
conjunction with other measures.
RECOMMENDED READING
Robinson, J. (1993). Faculty orientations toward teaching and the use
of teaching portfolios for evaluating and improving university-level
instruction. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American
Educational Research Association.
Seldin, P., and Associates (1993). "Successful use of teaching
portfolios." Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company.
Vavrus, L.G., and Collins, A. (1991). Portfolio documentation and
assessment center exercises: A marriage made for teacher assessment.
"Teacher Education Quarterly," 3(2), 12-29.
Winograd, P., and Jones, D.L. (1993). The use of portfolios in
performance assessment. "Portfolio News," 4(4), 1-13.
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This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of
Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education,
under contract RR93002002. The opinions expressed in this report do
not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or the U.S.
Department of Education. Permission is granted to copy and distribute
this ERIC/AE Digest.
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