In 10th grade, we will be using an assessment system that looks a bit different than what you might be used to. The purpose of the Portfolio Assessment Model is the following:
Get students to talk about what they are learning and what skills they are developing instead of how many points they need to move up a letter grade
Give parents a more in-depth way to see specifically where their child is struggling or excelling at any time in the semester
Encourage students to take academic risks and challenge themselves without the fear of losing points
Make it easier for students to see what they are learning and how they are growing throughout the semester
How does it work? Both Humanities and Chemistry will be using the Portfolio Grading Model this semester. For each class, there is a set list of skills that students are expected to master over the course of the semester. Instead of receiving points for work students complete in class, they will gather their work in an ongoing Learning Portfolio. Three times per semester, students will meet with their teachers and defend the work in their portfolio, articulating which skills they believe they can prove to have mastered, and which are still a work in progress. The teacher and student will have a conversation about the evidence in the portfolio and determine next steps for the student’s growth.
Student Learning Portfolios will be housed in a private Google document that will be shared with the student, the teachers, and parents. Scroll down to see a sample Learning Portfolio with annotations explaining how to interpret it. The Learning Portfolio has three components:
(1) A wheel graphic on the left that provides a quick visual of the student's learning. The more a slice of the wheel is filled in, the more skills the student has mastered in that category. The goal is to have the entire wheel filled by the end of the semester.
(2) A list of skills on the right. This provides more detail about the graphic. If half a slice is filled in on the graphic, that means half the skills in that category were mastered. Those skills will be highlighted on the right. A gray highlight means the skill has been addressed in class, but the student hasn't shown enough evidence of growth. A light highlight means the student is on track, but there's more we'll be covering in class later on. No highlight means the skill hasn't been addressed yet, so the student doesn't need to worry about it yet.
(3) A tracker on the second page where students post links to their work and write comments about which skills they have demonstrated. On the right hand column of this page, the teacher will provide comments on the student's work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How often does this portfolio get updated? A: The second page of the portfolio will be updated regularly on a rolling basis. Any time work is completed for class, students will have to time to update the portfolios, and teachers will respond accordingly with comments. The first page of the portfolio will be updated three times per semester at set checkpoints. At these checkpoints, students will defend their learning to their teachers, sharing evidence of growth from their portfolio and articulating which skills they have mastered. The first of these conferences will take place at the fall semester SLC, with the parents.
Q: We're several weeks into school and my teacher said I'm right on track with all my skills. Why are the slices on the wheel still barely colored in? A: This is an important clarification: Don't panic if the wheel isn't filling up with color as quickly as you want. The idea is for you to master all of these skills by the end of the semester. Many of these skills are impossible to "master" until the semester is almost finished, so you won't see progress on the wheel right away even if you're right on track.
Q: It is really important for me to get an A on my transcript so I can get into good colleges. How do I know if I'm doing well, especially since the wheel doesn't always show progress? A: We totally understand this concern, so we've made it incredibly easy for you to know whether or not you're on track. The easiest way is to look at the skills to the right of the wheel. Any skill highlighted in a dark color has been fully mastered (and should be reflected on the wheel). A light highlight means you're right on track based on what we've covered in class so far. A grey highlight means we've addressed it in class but you haven't shown enough evidence of growth yet. No highlight means we haven't touched on it, so you don't need to think about it.
The quick and easy way to see how you're doing is this: If you don't see any grey highlights, it means you're right on track with every skill we've covered in class, which would equate to an "A" in a traditional system. If you see a lot of grey highlights, it means there are some areas that you haven't shown enough area of growth yet. This is something you might want to check in with your teacher about to see if you can get some extra help or support in this particular area.
Q: I'm a parent and I'm worried that I'll have no way of knowing if my student is getting her work turned in. What do I do? A: We think it's really important for everything to be transparent for parents - we want it to be easy for you to know at all times how your student is doing, so there are no sudden surprises. For this reason, we will be inputting all deadlines into PowerSchool and marking them as "complete" or "incomplete." This way, you can quickly check to make sure your student is completing work on time and keeping up with project checkpoints.
For a more in depth look at the actual learning your student is doing, you'll be able to go to your student's Learning Portfolio, which will be shared with you directly, and take a look at the Evidence, Student Comments, and Teacher Comments to learn more about where your student is excelling and where there are areas for growth.
Q: This is interesting, but at the end of the day, I need to have a letter grade on my transcript so I'm eligible for sports and can complete college applications. Is that possible with this system? A: Yes. Your portfolio progress will be converted into a letter grade for all progress reports. The quickest way to think about the "conversion" is this: If you are on track with all the skills, you'll have an A. If you see a lot of skills highlighted in grey, you will need to demonstrate more growth with those skills to get your grade up to an A.