The Reality of Assessing “Authentic” Portfolios: Can Electronic Portfolios Serve as a Form of Standardized Assessment of Literacy and Self-Regulated Learning at the Elementary Level?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 87
  In Roundtable Session: Instructional Technology SIG: Electronic Portfolios, Interaction, and Teacher Training: Their Impacts on Student Cognitive and Affective Variables

Abstract

To explore electronic portfolios’ potential to assess student achievement across diverse classrooms, as do standardized tests including the Canadian Achievement Test (CAT), a holistic assessment tool and a rubric were developed, with n=369 participants in grades 4, 5 and 6. The portfolio literacy scores correlated (p<0.01) to scores assigned the CAT4s using our assessment tools, and to government preCAT4 scores, but the self-regulatory portfolio scores did not correlate to the Self-regulated Questionnaire (SRQ) or to our measure of students’ self-regulation. Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.70 to 0.83 for literacy and SRL overall, but sub-scales were weak in the first year. The second year showed improvement especially for the sub-scales (n=198).

Authors

• Eva Mary Bures, Bishop's University

• Alexandra Barclay, Mount Saint Vincent University

• Philip C. Abrami, Concordia University

• Vivek Venkatesh, Concordia University

• Elizabeth J. Meyer, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo