Portfolio assessment in the classroom (Uganda)

Team Uganda under leadership of Frank, conducted a participatory Build-Measure-Learn loop with teachers to test several options of setting, assigning and marking portfolio activities. Based on the test, the following best practices/guidelines for portfolio assessments came out strong as the ones preferred/used by the teachers.

1. The teachers set the portfolios individually

“I worked on this alone because the other teachers teach different subjects but I will show other teachers what the students have done as a way of motivating them to take up the approach. I used an info session with the students where they recorded the questions in their note books and I preferred this approach as opposed to designing a flip chart because much as it would be easier, students would remove them since they share classes.”

2. The teacher use an info session to communicate the portfolio to the students as they take notes in their books

“I gave students an essay question to write and explain at least five factors that influence a person’s career opportunity. I communicated the portfolio to the student’s verbally after the Skills Lab lesson and explained key words such as career. I also wrote the portfolio requirements on the black board for the students to copy.”

3. Students work on assignments individually as homework after class

“Students worked on assignments individually "

4. Teachers train students on how to make portfolio folders to keep their work

“I taught students how to make portfolio folders; students mobilised the resources for making the folders."

“Students did the work/essays in their books where they made notes. Students normally lose their portfolios and working in their books also helps when I am checking their notes and portfolios.”

4. The teacher makes a simple grading rubric and marks students work by themselves.

“My portfolio assessment was for students to use the art skills acquired to sensitize people about the diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. I made a rubric for neat work, graphical illustration and nature of art and paint that were awarded credit.”

5. Teacher uses percentage scores to grade students work and;

“I used percentage scores as opposed to categories/levels which are harder because mould are visual in nature. Students also prefer marks because it gives a true representation of their performance.”

6. Students present best work in class and get feedback from the teachers and peers

“When giving feedback, I will write comments on the student’s essays, interpret the question for those who did not understand and the throw the ball back to the students to think about what their correct responses would now be using the new understanding of the question as I guide them before I make my final presentation. I have given the students a new deadline of Friday 23^rd for all to submit their work”

From our learning question of: how can we make portfolio assessment easier for teachers? It is seen that some of the solutions that would ideally be “easier” may not necessarily be the best/practical/most feasible for teachers to use.

See the full report here.

Making portfolio assessment work at scale! (Educate! Global)

Designers from Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda investigated the literature and practices of portfolio assessment to present recommendations for portfolio assessment at scale. This included recommendations for Educate! teacher training programmes as well as national education reform. This resulted in several products such as slides for a workshop with the Rwandan Education Board (REB), a literature review and an internal portfolio brief. A brief summary below.

Best practices for portfolios in reform (Gov’t)

1. Find a balance between standardization at Government level and allowing teachers to shape portfolio assessment in their classrooms. For example, in Rwanda a system is proposed where teachers can assign their own portfolio activities but there will be district level training and oversight as to quality standards.
2. Set up systems to track student performance - Records should be kept systematically to allow portfolio grades to feed into termly results or exams. It also allows local government officials (for example the district level) to easily monitor what is happening at the school level, and to conduct quality assurance of portfolio marking by sampling student portfolios from different schools.
3. Acknowledge portfolio assessment in the final grade - The students’ final grade should reflect portfolio work assigned and completed throughout the year. In addition, incorporate a practical assessment as a component of the national exam.
4. Plan for roll out - high level decisions on portfolio assessment should be translated into realistic and thorough implementation plans including communication (i.e. circulars) and training (see below).
5. Reform facilitation - When working with Government partners, co-design assessment systems and implementation plans. In Rwanda the team discovered Government priorities and preferences through one-on-one interviews and an orientation workshop. In addition a collaborative research on current assessment practices of teachers was designed and executed. Capacity building of Officials was included basing on global case studies and bringing in teachers who have been using portfolio assessment successfully. The team also helped simplify the guidelines for continuous assessment in a co-creation workshop.

Best Practice for portfolios in E! teacher training

1. Portfolio assessment as an influencer of pedagogy and an indicator of skill development - As proven by research, the biggest value of portfolio assessment is in its impact on teaching practice - teachers dedicate more time and attention towards developing practical skills in their lesson planning, during class and in assessment (see for example IBE-UNESCO, 2017; Stecher & Herman, 1997).
2. Create rewards and acknowledgement for portfolio assessment - For countries where portfolio assessment is part of the final student grade, implementation is more consistent.
3. Acknowledge that portfolio assessment requires time & resources - Teachers will use more time to plan and run practical lessons and to review portfolio activities for all learners. Stecher and Herman (1997) look at this positively since it indicates a shift of priorities towards practical teaching. However, it is also an often cited challenge especially in low-resource contexts.
4. Portfolio assessment can be made simple - Portfolio assessment requires teachers to understand learner-centred pedagogy and how skills can be developed and assessed practically. However, in different contexts several strategies have been used to support teachers in this practice.
5. Making it a movement, enforced and supported by school leadership - Training time is often limited and pressure within a school environment is high to teach to the test. Therefore, besides training, teacher programs should try to influence the school systems to be supportive of skills based education.