Portfolio assessment

Abstract

This work stems from the provision within the National Minimum Curriculum that states: 'The formative and summative assessments, together with examples of the children's work, will be kept in a portfolio. This portfolio will be carried forward by the children from one year to the next throughout the entire scholastic period. The portfolio will provide teachers with detailed information regarding different aspects of the children's development. This would enable teachers to address better the potential and needs of individual students and, at the same time, build upon the foundation provided by the work carried out in previous years.' (Ministry of Education, 1999, p. 78) There is willingness and expectancy in the schools, among the teaching profession, as well as with parents and the general public, for the development of assessment procedures that provide the best support to the learning process. However, there is also full recognition that what is called for is not a revolutionary change that leaves everyone insecure but a gradual development that is backed by research, built by way of consultation and designed through collaborative practices. In the end, if the process is successful, a mind-shift and a culture change may actually take place. Along the way there will necessarily be critical analysis of current practices, research on local and external ideas, authentic and democratic consultation, dissemination of findings from both research and consultation and extensive and intensive training and professional development. It was as a first step along this road that the Education Division, with the collaboration of the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology, Faculty of Education, University of Malta, commissioned Dr Deborah Chetcuti and Dr Grace Grima to undertake a study on Portfolio Assessment that appears in this work. Both authors have recognised expertise in the field and are actively participating in the implementation process. The book gives background theoretical information about the use of portfolios in different countries; provides information about the basic elements involved within such a system; and presents the framework required in developing portfolio assessment. The school management team, and teachers in particular, will find this an essential reference book as it provides them with the philosophical underpinnings as well as the practical implications behind the successful introduction of such a scheme. We augur that the book will be a useful tool to schools as they participate actively in the implementation of the National Curriculum provision for assessment and answers their repeated requests for information and guidance in this important and complex field.