Alternative Assessment Portfolios: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

• In Event: Alternative Appraisals: Semiotics and Assessment

Abstract

The purpose of this case study research is to uncover the meanings participants (ie. teachers and administrators) hold about the use and function of alternative assessment portfolios for children with moderate intellectual disabilities in a public school setting. The guiding questions include: What are the different discourses that surround the issue of portfolio assessment? How do school administrators within one public school design a process for identifying students who participate in the alternative assessment system? How do special education teachers construct alternative assessment portfolios for children identified for the system? What are the leveled discourses that surround the issue of portfolio assessment within the case study and how do those discourses parallel or conflict with each other?

Author

• Nancy S. Stockall, Sam Houston State University