The Words We Use: A Glossary of Terms for
Early Childhood Education Standards and Assessment
Definition
A collection of work, usually drawn from children's classroom work, which, when subjected to objective analysis, become an assessment tool. This occurs when (1) the assessment purpose is defined; (2) criteria or methods are made clear for determining what is put into the portfolio, by whom, and when; and (3) criteria for assessing either the collection or individual pieces of work are identified and used to make judgments about children's learning.
Alternative assessment; Assessment; Authentic assessment; Developmental assessment; Evaluation; Formal Assessment; Informal assessment; Observational assessment; Performance-based assessment; Standards-based assessment; Test
Explanatory Comments
- Portfolio assessment can be designed to help primary age children reflect on their own learning.
- Portfolio assessment presents challenges for reliable, objective scoring.
- Items in the portfolio may be such items as photographs, work products of various types, interviews, emergent writing, art products, etc.
Web Sources
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (2002). A lexicon of learning: What educators mean when they say… Retrieved May 19, 2003, from http://www.ascd.org/educationnews/lexicon/lexiconoflearning.html
Education Week. Glossary. Retrieved May 19, 2003, from http://www.edweek.org/context/glossary/glossterm.cfm?glossid=88
ERIC Processing and Reference Facility. Thesaurus: Informal assessment. Retrieved May 19, 2003, from http://www.ericfacility.net/extra/pub/thesfull.cfm?TERM=Portfolio%20Assessment
Gómez, E. Assessment portfolios: Including English language learners in large-scale assessments. Center for Applied Linguistics. Retrieved May 19, 2003, from http://www.cal.org/ericcll/digest/0010assessment.html
Grace, C. (1992). The portfolio and its use: Developmentally appropriate assessment of young children. ERIC Digest. ED351150. Retrieved May 19, 2003, from http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed351150.html
Manitoba Ministry of Education. Education and Youth. Reporting on student progress and achievement: Glossary. Retrieved May 19, 2003, from http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/ks4/docs/policy/reporting/glossary.html
Massachusetts Department of Education System for Adult Basic Education Support. Glossary of useful terms. Author. Retrieved May 19, 2003, from http://www.sabes.org/assessment/glossary.htm
National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST). Assessment glossary. Author. Retrieved May 19, 2003, from http://www.cse.ucla.edu/CRESST/pages/glossary.htm
Other Resources
Gronlund, G., & Engel, B. (2001). Focused portfolios: A complete assessment for the young child. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.
MacDonald, S. (1997). The portfolio and its use: A road map for assessment. Book II. Beltsville, MD: Gryphon House.
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