ABSTRACT

Classroom-based assessment occupies a prominent position in discussions about educational reform. As a result, many districts, schools, and teachers are trying to implement portfolios. Interest in portfolio assessment emerged from two areas of the educational community—teaching and learning, and assessment. From the teaching and learning community came a paradigm shift from behaviorism to constructivism, which profoundly altered educators’ thinking about the nature of teaching and learning in areas such as the language arts, mathematics, and science. Many in the area of teaching and learning recognized that multiple-choice, standardized tests were inadequate in the context of constructivist approaches and rigorous standards. External conditions exert enormous pressure on portfolio assessment; the judgments and support of external constituencies can and will influence whether portfolio assessment succeeds. The internal conditions for the implementation of portfolio assessment are provided by the district and the school.