Beyond the Tests: How Portfolios Whisper of Equity and Engagement in Our Classrooms

Everything is changing; the way teachers teach has become learner-centered. Consequently, when it comes to assessment, we need to do better than merely assigning grades. In other words, our means of evaluation must support learner growth and reflect their learning paths, so that as teachers, we can assist in guiding learners towards meaningful progress.

Against this backdrop, assessment using portfolios provides an alternative option that seems comprehensive, inclusive, and aligns with the actual goals of our education policies.  A portfolio refers to a curated collection of the creative and or upstanding works of learners over some time. Typically, it encapsulates assignments, project works, feedback, revisions, reflections, and self-assessments. Ultimately, the focus is to show how the learner has grown, not only what they have learned.

Pedagogical Impacts of Portfolios Assessment:

• Portfolios Highlight the Learning Process, Not Just the Production

What our traditional assessment methods do is that they only offer learners the reward for what the “correct answer” is. On the contrary, portfolios establish the actuals by revealing how learners understand what was learnt through practice, revisions, and reflection. Aljohani (2024) indicates that portfolios enhance learner motivation, resilience, and the zeal to boldly communicate because they can exhibit their talents and improve their learning efforts. It implies that portfolios guide teachers to determine learner creativity, persistence, and analytical abilities rather than just “correctness”. It also correlates with the fact that portfolios help teachers to address the specific needs of the learners, so that they can device strategies to carry them along in the learning process.

• Portfolios Assess the Learning and Not Just the End

In many cases, one perceives assessment to be done only at the end of teaching and learning by testing what the learner can recall.  However, the approach needs to be re-examined because it does not establish the opportunity to use assessment to enhance teaching practices while ongoing. According to Black and Wiliam (2021), there is a need for a more dynamic way of finding out what learners learn in what they refer to as “assessment for learning.” To this end, they suggest a tool like a portfolio to enable teachers and learners co-regulate learning by setting goals, providing feedback, and adjusting strategies in real time. The above suggests that portfolio assessment must go alongside teaching and learning to help learners get more engaged and take ownership of their progress.

• Portfolios Support Teacher Reflection and Instructional Improvement

It is essential to indicate that portfolios are not only relevant in learner assessments. Indeed, they empower the teacher to improve upon their practices by gaining more insights into how to address challenges using new strategies. For instance, if many learners fail to understand a concept after hours of instruction, the teacher can retake the lesson by adjusting the earlier strategy. A study in Cogent Education by Mugo and Nketsia (2021) uncovers that portfolio promote reflection, teacher professionalism, and mindfulness of pedagogical choices, despite the fact that teaching awareness may call for training and backing from school leadership. This echoes the idea that portfolios encourage evidence-based teaching. When teachers understand the impact of trends in their instructional strategies, they make the best instructional decisions.

• Portfolios Encourage Equity and Deeper engagement

The assertion remains that traditional standardised means of assessments cater to developing narrow skills like test-taking speed and memorization. For this reason, little opportunity is available for learners who are creative, multilingual, neurodiversed, and highly practical to excel. Alkhateeb and Ghani (2022) establish that metacognition, deeper collaboration, and individual learner responsibility are enhanced when we use portfolios for assessment. This research further suggests that portfolios enable learners with varied characteristics to demonstrate what they know and how best they learn. This gives a more precise perspective of learner capabilities beyond single test scores.

Challenges and Recommendations

Even though using portfolios carries immeasurable benefits, they are not without challenges. One key barrier is time. Most especially, reviewing multiple learners’ works, providing feedback, and keeping records takes effort. Also, it is challenging to use portfolios as an assessment tool when the class size is large. In such circumstances, the teacher needs to cater to every individual, which is very involving, especially where the teacher needs to make use of a consistent rubric in ensuring fairness in the grading procedure.  Nevertheless, a study by Mugo and Nketsia (2021) highlights that these differences can be managed effectively using training, collaborative planning time, and digital tools. Therefore, it is to say that using portfolios in assessment is not only the onus of the teacher but also the general school leadership. By implication, it will make the implementation more sustainable.

Conclusion

Teachers must understand that portfolios are not merely tools for assessment but a shift from how we perceive children’s learning and instructional growth. Rather, they must turn assessments into continuous dialogues and allow learner to reflect and take pride in their development. Going forward, classroom practices must go beyond memorization and standardized tests.

 

WRITTEN BY: WISDOM KOUDJO KLU, EDUCATION EXPERT/COLUMNIST, GREATER ACCRA REGION. [email protected]