Sunday, May 27, 2007

Rubrics and Portfolios

As I began reading the “Assessment and Evaluation” packet, I came across rubrics and portfolios. Though we tend to hear about the importance of these types of assessment and modes of student progress, you cannot truly appreciate the importance until you have witnessed their impact on a student’s work. I first encountered a rubric when I began grading projects in my junior field placement. Students were given this rubric and the point values associated with each section before the start of the project. I feel this is important, especially for adolescents and older students because they know exactly how they will be assessed and can plan accordingly. I also feel this helps teachers grade accurately and without bias.

Portfolios are also beneficial for teachers to use in their classrooms. I believe that this is an effective way for teachers to assess students’ progress throughout the year. I also like the fact that portfolios can directly involve the student by allowing him/her to pick what pieces they would like to include. This shows the teacher what the students value as their best work, and can allow for discussion on how to improve pieces they did not choose. Portfolios can also be used in parent conferencing to show parents their child’s work and progress. If a teacher has an ELL, a portfolio would be a great way for the teacher to see the progress this student has made in written and oral language development throughout the year.

7 comments:

Tanya said...

I absolutely agree with you Lauren, I think that Portfolios are a great method of assessment. Portfolios allow a teacher to take a long term look at a student’s work over a long period of time and judge the progress that he/she has made over time and not just judge them based on one test grade or one large activity or assignment. I think that the idea of assessment should be based on the concept of improvement; if a child can show that he/she is working harder and attaining a better grasp of the material than that is far more important than one or two really good or bad grades he/she may have earned. Portfolios allow students to show a wide range of who they are and what they are capable of.
I especially believe that Portfolios are a beneficial method of assessment for ELL students. Portfolios allow students to show progress, and there is no better candidate to show the progression than that of an ELL student as they move from each phase of the language development stages; in a matter of just one school year a child may have gone through up to two different stages! Their portfolio would not only be a great way of assessment but also a great way to show the student just how far along he/she has come and just how far he/she has to go.

Anu Zachariah said...

Portfolios are one of the best ways to see how well students are doing in the classroom. Portfolios are not only beneficial for the students but also teachers, parents and even administrators.

For regular students as well as ELL students portfolios benefits includes, how the students are growing as an individual, displays student’s accomplishments, helps students make choice, encourages them to take responsibility for their work, and demonstrates how students think.

Portfolio’s for teachers provides a framework for organizing student’s work, encourages collaboration with students, parents, and teachers, and showcases an ongoing curriculum.

For parents the portfolio offers insight into what their children do in school, facilitates communication between home and school. The portfolio provides actual work samples by their children and most importantly it gives the parents an opportunity to react to what their child is doing in school and to their development.

Lastly, administrators also benefit from a student creating a portfolio because it provides evidence that teacher and school goals are being met. Importantly it shows growth for both the students and teachers.

In conclusion, portfolio is one of the greatest ways to see how the students are doing in the classroom. I would defiantly use this in my classroom.

Jeremy said...

I am a very big fan of the Rubric. I feel that with everything I do in a classroom when I do get that opportunity, I will use a rubric to grade my students. Just in my EMSE 3140 class, my group and I put together a lesson plan and for the final project we incorporated a rubric to be used for grading. This not only allows the students to see what their grade will be based upon, but it also gives the teacher a fair grading method.
Portfolios are easily used as a way to show what the students have completed over the year. It gives the students a way to share their work with other classmates as well as parents, but also themselves. Portfolios give the students a reason to look back on what they have completed and enjoy it. I personally know that I hate the portfolio that Elementary Ed. Majors must complete, but it truly does make me feel good seeing the work I have done and being able to share it with others. Students it every grade should have a portfolio; I know that my students will.

stephanie said...

I feel that rubrics and portfolios are great to have in the classroom for all types of students. I personally love when teachers hand out rubrics because than I know exactly what the teacher is looking for. Usually when a rubric is giving out by the teacher, the student has to complete a paper or a big project and these are stressful enough; the rubric is an excellent way to relieve stress about doing the assignment. Not only are rubrics great for students, but they are also very helpful for teachers. Rubrics help make a teacher's job grading assignments easier because everything is already broken down that the teacher has to look for. In addition, the teacher does not have to deal with students complaining and arguing as much about their grade because everything is right in front of them before they complete the assignment.

I also feel that portfolios are a great form of assessment because they measure a student's progress throughout the semester. This is an excellent way for the student, as well as the teacher to see what parts the student's improved on throughout the year and what the student's need to work on in the future.

M. Tomich said...

Did I tell you about my French friend who teaches first grade in a French school in Manhattan? She has a very successful "portfolio" system with her students. Something like every few days it's time to take this special book out, practice a first draft, and then carefully make an entry indicative of the latest learning. Expression in drawing is also part of it.

During parent meetings these portfolios are presented and Michelle tells parents about the various lessons she works on with the kids as they page through their child's documentation of what they're doing in this first day class.

Throughout the school year these children realize that this is a special artifact and treat is with a certain respect.

What do you think, is it something you might like to do with your students?

Elizabeth said...

Both rubrics and portfolios provide so much information for a teacher and students. I feel that it is essential to have both in a classroom, especially with ELL.

Rubrics provide students with a base of what is expected of them during activities. Most teachers only use rubrics when giving a major project, but they can be used on any writing assignment or activity in the classroom. Rubrics are important in the middle school grades because of the state testing that is required of them. The test has an open ended section and is graded bases on a rubric, so it is best to familiarize students with rubrics. English Language Learners can benefit from having rubrics for the simple reason of it being a visual to help them understand the words being presented to them to charting their progress throughout the year from activity to activity, areas that need to be worked on. Also having activities that require a student to follow a rubric allows the dependent students to work off the rubric and gain a successful grade where the independent students can use their imagination and go beyond the material required.
Another important factor that will help students in the classroom is having a portfolios. Student portfolios aid in their progression throughout the year. ELL usually have a portfolio to track their comprehension of English. Portfolios also aid teachers in times when grades are being questioned and parent teacher conferences. It is a gathering of readily assessable samples of a student's work. For students learning English for the first time portfolios help track what stage of acquisition they are at. Along with this you can see the transfer from BICS to CALP language. These are very important for teachers with ELL students for end of the year evaluations and being able to see all kinds of progression. Again this isn’t just for ELL students all students should see any progression during the school year otherwise they may gain the mentality that they're learning absolutely nothing.

Terry said...

I loved the portfolio idea of Professor Tomich's friend. It is a great way for students to practice drafts and compile work that makes them proud, especially if they are encouraged to express themselves creatively and draw in them as well. It also gives the children a finished keepsake. It is an idea I know that I will use in the classroom. (Thanks!) In the fifth grade class where I did junior field, the teacher had all the students write the important things from her language arts class lessons in a composition notebook she called their "Source Book," but that was more of a way to learn to take notes rather than collect their work. She did have them keep their work in a portfolio, but did not have them rewrite most of the work to save.