ABSTRACT
The word portfolio comes from the Latin word portare (to carry) and folium (leaf, sheet). The Webster Dictionary’s definition of portfolio is “a flat, portable case for carrying loose papers [and] drawings” (Webster’s Encyclopedia, 1996). In health professions education, a portfolio is a collection of evidence documenting progress, accomplishments and achievements over time. Unlike written exams and performance tests, whose scope is limited to behaviors and characteristics that can be observed and measured at a single point of time, portfolios provide a means to assess competencies such as self directed learning, which are demonstrated over the course of months or years. Portfolios also comprise a vehicle for the longitudinal, multi-method, multisource assessment of learner achievement. While portfolios can be used for both instruction and assessment purposes, our focus will be on the use of portfolios for assessment. In this chapter we will describe both single-competency and multi-source or “omnibus” assessment portfolios, and focus on the challenge of using portfolios to obtain valid and reliable scores.
