Standards for Portfolio as a teaching and assessment technique

To assure a high quality standard of portfolio based teaching and assessment the student’s portfolio work for which an EPC Portfolio Certificate is to be issued must meet the following minimum criteria.

Portfolio work

1. must include the following five principal activities by the student:
   • collection,
   • selection,
   • review, reflection, evaluation
   • presentation and
   • making new resolves
2. must explicitly list the criteria for selection (what is to be considered essential) and for judging merit (quality of contents, design and form, see appendix 6.6 “Quality criteria for portfolio documents, portfolio presentations and oral examinations”)
3. must include a declaration of authorship signed by the student.
   In particular the following characteristics must be apparent:
   
4. The portfolio task
   a. serves the main objective of stimulating initiative on the part of the student and teacher
   b. provides a framework for the selection of tasks for all learning including formal, non-formal and informal learning
   c. is designed to encourage a sense of ownership of the project by/ in the student
5. Regarding the portfolio process
   d. the teacher and students cultivate an awareness of process throughout the project.
   e. There is a continuous dialogue on goals and objectives, planning, methods and what actually happens.
   f. In the evaluation process the teacher is to give oral and written feedback.
6. In their self-assessment, the students are encouraged to explore the quality of what was experienced during the project.
   Therefore the student will
   g. review
   
   1. the goals and objectives
      
   2. the planning
      
   3. the methods and
      
   4. what actually happened
   h. and reflect
   
   1. on what was expected/ unexpected
      
   2. on what changes were made to the original plan and why
      
   3. on the questions that arose during the process
7. In the evaluation and making of new resolves
   i. the student will articulate what he or she has learned individually and/ or in a group
   j. the student will indicate what could be improved the next time and
   k. the portfolio may be complemented by the teacher’s evaluation of the outcome or that of another appropriate professional
8. The students, having been fully informed by the school about all forms of plagiarism, must sign a declaration of authorship for each of their portfolios. Where plagiarism occurs, all portfolios and certificates related to this case of plagiarism will be void.

If the student’s portfolio work complies with the above criteria a European Portfolio Certificate may be awarded. The standards and criteria for the certificate are given here.

Portfolio work is a practical methodology for engaging the motivation, thinking skills and creative action of young people