Portfolios

• Compiling a portfolio requires students to document and present their achievements, an important communication skill. Portfolios can also stimulate student reflection on their learning. 
• A portfolio can provide evidence of ‘real-world’ capabilities that students can re-version to gain future study/employment opportunities. 
• Students may view portfolios as a fairer form of assessment, representing work produced over a longer period and requiring a range of skills. 
• It is possible to include formative assessment (e.g. assessing individual artefacts) that clearly relate to the summative assessment. 

• Students need digital literacy, and technological aspects may overshadow learning or reflection. They may require more student time than alternative assessments (Nagle, Walsh & Farrelly, 2024). 
• The course/programme team may need to work more closely with students to ensure their continuous engagament with the portfolio production. 
• Assessing portfolios can be time-consuming, especially if they offer multiple forms of evidence (skills, disciplinary knowledge, reflection). 
• There is a potential to over-assess students if portfolio elements are not balanced. 
• There can be a tension between allowing for student choice and creativity and the need to ensure that the assessment of the portfolio is robust. 

Any unfamiliar assessment can be stressful for students, and impact attainment. You can help through: minimising technological demands by using familiar software, and/or providing specific technological support; allocating contact time and designing teaching activities to contribute to portfolio creation; provide clear guidance on the purpose of portfolio creation (Nagle, Walsh & Farrelly, 2024). 

Clear criteria help students to understand what is expected, and markers to align. Criteria should be based on the learning outcomes, explain what is expected, show what this looks like at different levels of attainment, and indicate how marks will be allocated. Criteria should be shared and discussed with students (preferably through an associated activity). 

Marking criteria should not only outline minimum requirements, but should place a restriction on the maximum number of components.   

Portfolio components (written, oral, graphic etc.) can be linked to learning activities such as groupwork or online contributions. Work can be formatively assessed in draft form. This allows assessors to track the development of the work, making it difficult for students to include work that is not their own, especially if discussions about artefacts (in class, or one to one) are included in the process.