Using Portfolios in Business

I. Some Points to Consider

Portfolios provide a means of assessing written competency that’s better than pre-/post-tests, a timed essay, or a commercially prepared exam.

Advantages:

· Faculty and “local” administrators determine portfolio contents and collaboratively develop or adapt the rubric for assessment,

· Students can also exercise choice about portfolio content.

· Portfolios are the most valid assessment measures, representing a range of work that students draft, develop, and revise over time.

· Portfolios encourage greater uniformity in grading standards among faculty.

· Assessment sessions provide opportunities for faculty to learn from each other.

· Data from portfolio assessment can help determine overall effectiveness of writing instruction on a large scale (department, college, university).

· Portfolios give students a tool for job interviews.

Drawbacks:

· Assessing portfolios requires time.

· Faculty must be trained as readers, or reliability of assessment will be seriously compromised.

· Courses can become “portfolio-driven” as readily as they become “test-driven.”

· Submission process should be monitored.

II. Frequently Asked Questions About Portfolios

Q: What goes into a portfolio?

A: A portfolio should contain no less than three writing samples, with drafts and assignments attached to each. Statements of verification signed by professors might accompany submissions, if the submissions come from various courses. Drafts can show professors’ comments, but neither drafts nor revisions should indicate how each sample has been graded. Often, a cover letter accompanies the samples. In the cover letter, the student explains her rationale for submitting each piece.

Q: How do students decide what to put in their portfolios?

A: Professors can advise them, suggesting what written coursework would be most suitable.

Q: How many times should a piece be revised before submission?

A: At least once, with evidence that a professor or tutor has provided feedback.

Q: What assures uniform assessment?

A: Usually readers are “normed” by ranking sample portfolios and by discussing their rankings. Care must be taken to adhere to the rubric that determines the criteria for ranking. Reading time for portfolios should average 5-10 minutes per portfolio, as readers check for “primary traits.”

Q: How is the assessment activity set up?

A: Readers meet in a large room. Teams of 4 to 8 sit at separate tables. One reader serves as a table leader for each team and is responsible for resolving any major disparities in ranking. Two readers read the same sets of portfolios and rank each portfolio in the set independently. The table leader records and averages the two readers’ scores for each portfolio and keeps track of student ID #s. A reading director oversees the entire activity to insure that everyone keeps pace with the work.

III. Give It a Try: Workshop and Interaction

TO BEGIN: Please take a few moments to list the kinds of business writing with which a student should generally demonstrate proficiency by the 2nd semester of her junior year. What writing samples, on the other hand, should the student be proficient in, according to her specific major? What characteristics would demonstrate such proficiency? To what extent should both “native” NIU students and transfer students be able to demonstrate that proficiency as a 2nd semester junior?

TO APPLY: Look over the rubric on the other side of this handout. Then read through the “mini-portfolio” you receive. Rank the portfolio—you need to consider all three pieces together, an average of the student’s weaknesses and strengths. Jot down a few reasons why you decided to rank the mini-portfolio as you did. Does it show minimum competency?

SOURCE: E. White, Teaching and Assessing Writing, Jossey-Bass.