Realizing the rhetoric: A qualitative study of portfolio assessment in a second-grade classroom

As we redefine goals for schooling and aesessment, we struggle to understand critical elements of the learning experience such as the student's sense of ownership and its connection to teaching and learning assessments. Intuitively we sense that features of portfolio assessment will lead to student ownership of learning and knowledge. Studies of portfolio assessment practice in the classroom to date have investigated the experiences and effects on the teacher, the school, the district, and the state, but have not yet considered the student experience. Several critical questions have been left unanswered: How do students perceive or understand portfolio assessment--the benefits, difficulties, and personal rewards of portfolios? And, are the assumptions about student ownership and its connection to portfolios and portfolio assessment validated in the student experience? Alternative assessment methods, such as performance-based assessments are not inherently designed to evoke student ownership, and educators must pay careful attention to the ways that these tools both encourage and interfere with this notion.The purpose of this study was to illuminate and evaluate assumptions about portfolios and ownership by examining the classroom experience of 26 second graders engaged in the use of portfolio assessment. The student perspective is the primary focus. Fundamental to this 14 month study were qualitative methods of research. Through fieldnote and interview analysis, some thematic behavior patterns have been identified that may indicate student ownership of knowledge. Portfolios were instrumental in facilitating a more student-centered learning environment and students produced competent and interesting portfolio artifacts when the components of student choice, control, and purpose converged.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio