NguyenThuyQueChi final assignment TDIP183

Ho Chi Minh City Open UniversityGraduate School 97 Vo Van Tan Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET AND REPORT Name of Student: Class: TDIP183 Email Addres

Ho Chi Minh City Open University

Graduate School

97 Vo Van Tan Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET AND REPORT Name of Student:

Class: TDIP183

Email Address: chintq.tdip183@ou.edu.vn

Name of Coursework Subject: Language Assessment

Title of This Item of Work: The Pros and Cons of Portfolio Assessment

Word count: 2101

Name of Instructor: Dr Nguyen Thi Hong Tham

Due Date: 21/06/2019

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this paper is my original work; it is based on my own working No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement This piece of work has not previously been submitted for assessment in this or any other subject or course at this university or elsewhere

Student’s Signature: ………

I Introduction

Language teaching and assessments have always been highly connected in that each of them cannot be worked out without taking the other into account As the world trend shows the dominance of learner-centered approach, testing and assessment also follow the same approach The assessment of writing has long been considered a problem to many educators and teachers, especially in terms of evaluating and assessing the writing of ESL students Writing is conducted through a process of drafting and editing Traditional writing assessment techniques such as standardized tests are not compatible with the process-oriented and student-centered approach Furthermore, ESL writing is influenced by many factors such as English proficiency, mother tongue, diversified cultures, and style of written language Teachers have to take into consideration that ESL students might have learned a different style format

of writing, or even that they have different ways of expressing their thoughts and feelings Therefore, researchers and educators have started to explore other types of student assessment The new trend is the emphasis on the use of authentic assessment Portfolio assessment has been suggested as an alternative to traditional writing assessment because it can integrate instruction and evaluation, which can be a way of providing for validity

In this paper, I examined the advantages and disadvantages of portfolio assessment and students’ perceptions of the portfolio assessment in a writing course for ESL graduate students at the Language Center in Long An Province Students in the course wrote three major assignments, and they were required to provide drafts of the assignments Students were also asked to write reflective journals where they kept records of their writing and revision processes and could set goals for future development Students’ reflective journals were analyzed to understand students’ revision processes Then I analyzed students’ drafts in terms of fluency, accuracy, and grammatical complexity to find further evidence to support the use of portfolio assessment in an English skills classroom

II Literature Review

Nowadays, teaching strategies in language classrooms are shifting from the traditional way of enlightening unacquainted learners solely by transmitting knowledge to what students will need to succeed in the real world (Caner, 2010) Yang (2003) defined portfolio as a compilation of students’ work, which documents their effort, progress and achievement in their learning, and their reflection on the materials negotiated for the portfolio Crosby (1997) indicates that the primary purpose of portfolios in ESL context is to increase the level of students’ motivation and to give them a sense autonomous learning Hamp-Lyons &Condon (2000) believe that in portfolio assessment both reliability and validity are necessary and must be addressed

Cooper and Love (2000) state that portfolio based assessment can include evidence from several sources; it can help educators overcome many assessment difficulties, especially in the area of equity and moderation; it provides a richer picture of the student, so it is pedagogically efficient

The last two decades have seen a significant growth in the use of reflection or portfolio which is an alternative approach both in the language teaching and learning contexts as an instructional tool for preparation of students for examinations Due to the fact that the writing skill is relatively complicated, students have to pay much attention to higher level skills such as planning, organization as well as lower level skills such as spelling, punctuation, word choice, and so on The process of generating ideas, drafting, redrafting and editing are vital elements of writing and these important dimensions are not sufficiently assessed in a one-shot attempt of traditional testing

My experience with traditional assessments in ESL consists of remembering structures, guidance and procedures for different types of writing assignment Adeyemi’s study describes the disadvantageous aspects of traditional assessments Traditional assessments have been primarily teacher-based with limited student involvement, meaning that the students are not given opportunities to express their opinions about the assessments they perform These assessments promote the value of extrinsic rewards, rely on competition, and encourage academic dishonesty – such as cheating or plagiarism With traditional assessments as the primary means of assessment, students lack initiative in their learning; therefore, students lack learners’

autonomy, which is the “ability for making all the decisions concerning about all aspects of his/her learning” (Adeyemi, 2012, p 4494) However, Williams (1998, 2000) argues that without standards for implementation and outcomes, portfolio assessment will become unfair because "it increases the subjectivity teachers bring to evaluation"(2000, p.136) This unreliability will threaten portfolio assessment benefits because portfolio assessment was supposed to, "developed with the goal of making the evaluation of classroom writing more objective, more fair, and more realistic" (2000,

p 147) Reliability needs to be based on performance instead of idiosyncratic scores that have no preset criteria (O’Malley and Pierce, 1996) One of the main problems of reliability in L2 portfolio assessment is inter-rater reliability, consistency of scores because teacher are not used to this new concept of assessment The psychometric view of reliability is too narrow to take into account the “less standard forms of assessments such as the portfolio

Portfolio assessment requires that readers be trained to agree and to score papers based on a common rubric that refer numerical points Rubrics should include development and organization, fluency of idea description, and mechanics (O’Malley and Pierce, 1996) If readers agree, there is a reliable rate of agreement If readers do not agree, there is low interpreter reliability Without a sufficiently high rate of reliability, scores cannot be considered valid Portfolios can be used to support or even determine a grade when a well defined scoring guide or rubric is developed by both the teacher and the learner (Defina 1992, P.37) O’Malley and Chamot (1990) indicated that a key element of portfolios is student assessment; without self-assessment and reflection on the part of the student, a portfolio is not a portfolio

III Analysis

1 Advantages

In order to react to teachers' criticism to traditional tests like national entrance examinations, portfolio assessment seems to be a suitable solution to many of the challenging problems of traditional assessments It is believed that this assessment will generate a lot of advantages As Dudley (2001, p.19) states "portfolios are a simple yet powerful idea" It is likely that portfolio can cover the weaknesses of the

traditional tests For example, the traditional tests have their typical limitation to assess the real picture of students' performance since they only test parts of the lessons and quite often in the form of summative tests Portfolios, on the other hand, can be designed to assess completely any observable skill or process or content-area knowledge required The portfolios can indeed provide a continuous picture of student progress, rather than a snapshot of student achievement that single-occasion tests provide Therefore, the portfolio is more likely to have a valid authentic picture of learning (Gomez, 2000)

For instance, students in my class were required to learn how to write three assignments including writing a paragraph, writing a basic essay, and writing an argumentative essay For each assignment, they were asked to submit three drafts in the portfolio

Obviously, what makes a portfolio assessment so useful and advantageous to both teachers and students is that it assesses students’ progress in order to reach targets and goals by collecting a variety of the assignments over an extended period of time According to Davis (2005), portfolio can monitor and assess students’ progress over time Therefore, students’ ability can be developed through the activities that they do at each stage By doing so, students and teachers have time to be able to reflect what they have already done and thus, they are able to check progress and set further goals In other words, portfolios show a student's work from beginning of the term to the end They give both teacher and students a chance to evaluate how much the students' writing has progressed In the writing classroom how and when teachers grade can make an enormous difference in the students' development Generally, it is more beneficial to the students when they receive feedback while they are still working on a paper rather than after the paper has been graded Perfect writing can be possible only when students with feedbacks which are gained from teacher and/or peers have control of writing system, and grammar to solve the problem in writing effective compositions

Another major strength of portfolio assessment strategy is that it generates participation and collaboration during the learning process and assessments In other

words, both teachers and students have to work more to assess rather than just test Serhani (2007), additionally explains that students with teacher support and guidance are involved in preparing their own portfolios This helps students gain a sense of responsibility for their work Teddy (2013) asserts that when students are involved in reflection activities and setting goals for future progress, they become more self-critical and reflective about their activities Based on my case in the language center in Long An Province, it could be seen that students enthusiastically involved in exchanging ideas from their peers as before submitting portfolios, they usually asked their friends for pieces of advice Furthermore, Davis (2005) reminds us that portfolio promotes students’ critical thinking

Doner and Gilman (1998) conducted an observation on how students react to portfolios They investigated 621 students by giving them an open-ended survey following their final portfolio conference They found that portfolios give several potential benefits to students Some of the benefits are that the portfolios are proven as assessments which show a more accurate reflection of students learning than tests; enhance personal skills and self-confidence; improve the relationship with the teachers as well as with classmates; improve skills in organization and development

In the context of language testing, Davies (2003) claims that traditional tests seem to mainly focus on testing knowledge of the target language rather than on the skills and strategies; on grammatical and lexical accuracy rather than discourse skills, fluency, flexibility, range and delicacy; on the production of scores and grades rather than the supplying feedback for the learners and teachers In contrast, portfolio assessments mainly focus on assessing students’ skills, discourse skills, fluency, flexibility, and giving a wide range feedback for teachers, students, as well as parents

2 Disadvantages

The use of portfolio assessment in Vietnamese schools to replace traditional tests including national entrance exams seems to be challenging One of the main challenges is relating the issue of its low comparability and reliability It can be sometimes hard to establish scoring systems that are reliable In other words, it is not easy to transform many performance-based assessments into a single score or grade

In fact, the public has got used to seeing a single score as the one in standardized tests (Gomez, 2000) Moreover, it is hard to use the portfolios that really meet reliability requirements needed by many schools and institutions since a particular teacher's view toward certain students' portfolios may be different from others When teaching writing, for example, different teachers may have different scores on an exactly the same writing task One could give 50, but another one could give 60 Thus, Mathew (2004) argues that the single official reason to refuse using the portfolios is due to the fact that they are too subjective

A large class is also another challenging problem of using the portfolios in Vietnamese schools In fact, most Vietnamese classes consist of more than 30 even 40 students It is quite normal to see that many teachers teach many classes at the same time Portfolio assessment can be very time-consuming for teachers especially if portfolios are done in addition to traditional assessments They need to get involved in developing the materials, meeting with individual students or small groups, reviewing portfolios contents, commenting on students' work, and providing feedback Therefore, due to the fact that many students are in the classroom, it is understandable when a teacher finds it too difficult to manage and use portfolios in an perfect way

IV Conclusion

The portfolio assessment has a great educational impact in that it provides more authentic assessment of students’ academic achievement It also encourages students

to develop critical thinking and self-study learners In addition, portfolio assessments are able to help teachers track students’ progress over time They also bring students more duties and responsibilities which they are not get used to compared with traditional tests and assessments Therefore, students should be informed in advance about its benefits and advantages as well as its possible disadvantages

Adeyemi, A Effect of Peer and Assessment on Male and Female Students'

Self-Efficacy and Self-Autonomy in the Learning of Mathematics (2012) Gender &

Behaviour, 10, 4492-4508

Caner, M (2010) Students views on using portfolio assessment in EFL writing courses Anadolu University Journal of Social Sciences, 10

Crosby, C (1997, August) Portfolio assessment in the Korean ESL writing classroom Thai TESOL Bulletin, 10(2) Retrieved October 13, 2010, from http://www.thaitesol.org/bulletin/1002/100204.html

Davis, M H (2005).Spotlight on portfolio assessment UK: University of Dundee

Davies, A and Le Mahieu, P Assessment for Learning: Reconsidering Portfolios and Research Evidence In M Segers, F Dochy, & E Cascallar (Eds.), Innovation and Change in Professional Education: Optimising New Modes of Assessment: In Search

of Qualities and Standards Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers : 141-169 2003

Defina, Allan A (1992) "Portfolio Assessment: Getting Started." New York: Scholastic Professional Books

Doner, K.D & Gilman, D.A (1998) “Students React to Portfolio Assessment”,

Contemporary Education, Spring 1998.Vol.69, viewed on 5th October 2005, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=29546369&sid=3&Fmt=3&clientId=4468 7&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Dudley, M (2001) Speaking my mind: Portfolio assessment: When bad things happen to good ideas The English Journal, 90(6), 19-20

Cooper, T (1997) Portfolio assessment: a guide for students Perth: Praxis Education Cooper, T., & Love, T (2000) Portfolios in university-based design education In C Swann & E Young (Eds.), Re-inventing Design Education in the University (pp 159-166) Perth: School of Design, Curtin University

Mathews, Jay (2004) “ Teachers Struggle for Depth Despite Tests, “ Washington Post, July 6th, 2004, viewed on 20th September 2005

Gomez, Emily (2000) "Assessment Portfolios: Including English Language Learners

in Large-Scale Assessments," Eric Digest, December 2000, viewed on 19th September

2005, www.cal.org/resources/digest/0010assessment.html

Hamp-Lyons, L., & Condon, W (1993) Questioning assumptions about portfolio-based assessment.College Composition and Communication, 44, 176-190

O'Malley, J M., & Pierce, V L (1996) Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners Reading, MA: Addison- Wesley

Yang, N D (2003) Integrating portfolios into learning strategy-based instruction for EFL college students IRAL, 41(4), 293-317 Retrieved December 7, 2009, from Education Full Text (Wilson)

Williams, M (2004) Concept mapping a strategy for assessment Nursing

Standard, 19(9), 33-38

Serhani, W F A (2007).The effect of portfolio assessment on the writing performance of EFL secondary school students in Saudi Arabia Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Taibah University

Guidelines for Group Project Participation Rubric

Criteria

Level of Participation Distinguished (20%) Proficient (15%) Basic (10%) Unacceptable Workload

(20%)

Did a full share of the work—

or more; knows what needs to

be done and does it; volunteers

to help others

Did an equal share of the work; does work when asked; works hard most of the time

Did almost as much work

as others; seldom asks for help

Did less work than others; doesn’t get caught up after absence; doesn’t ask for help

Getting Organized

(20%)

Took the initiative proposing meeting times and getting group organized

Worked agreeably with partner(s) concerning times and places to meet

Could be coaxed into meeting with other partner(s)

Did not meet partner(s) at agreed times and places

Participation in

discussions and

providing feedback

(20%)

- Provided many good ideas for the project development;

inspired others; clearly communicated desires, ideas, personal needs, and feelings

- Habitually provides dignified, clear, and respectful feedback.

- Participated in discussions; shared feelings and thoughts

- Gave feedback that did not offend.

- Listened mainly; on some occasions, made suggestions

- Provided some feedback; sometimes hurt feelings of others with feedback or made irrelevant comments.

- Seemed bored with conversations about the unit; rarely spoke up, and ideas were off the mark

- Was openly rude when giving feedback.

Meeting Deadlines

(20%)

Completed assigned work ahead of time

Completed assigned work on time

Needed some reminding;

work was late but it didn’t impact grade

Needed much reminding; work was late and it did impact quality of work or grade

Showing up for Meetings

(20%)

Showed up for meetings punctually, sometimes ahead

of time

Showed up for meetings

on time

Showed up late, but it wasn’t a big problem for completing work

No show or extremely late; feeble or no excuse offered.

(Adapted from Making the Grade: The Role of Assessment in Authentic Learning by Marilyn M Lombardi,

http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3019.pdf )