The Effect of Portfolio Assessment on Iranian EFL Learners’ Writing Ability

Fattah, Zahra

doi:10.22034/ijpie.2024.198471

The Effect of Portfolio Assessment on Iranian EFL Learners’ Writing Ability

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Zahra Fattah

Department of English Language, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Central Branch, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/ijpie.2024.198471

Abstract

Much criticism of the traditional methods of assessment has been presented in the literature along with convincing arguments in favor of a need for alternative methods of assessment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a new form of assessment called Portfolio Assessment on promotion of the writing ability of Iranian EFL high school students. Two groups of high school students served as the subjects of the study. One group served as the experimental group and the other group as the control group. They attended writing classes two days a week, one hour a day. The experimental group received the special treatment which was the use of portfolio assessment during a ten-week period, while no treatment was given to the control group. The control group was managed by the ordinary method of teaching and evaluation. At the end of the experiment, a test of writing composition was administered to both groups. The experimental group performed significantly better than the control group. The results of the study showed that portfolio assessment had a positive effect on improving the writing ability of the experimental group.

Keywords

Assessment

Feedback

Formative Assessment

Inter-rater Reliability

Portfolio Assessment

Bada, E., & Okan, Z. (2000). Students' language learning preferences. TESL-EJ, 4, p.1-15.

Baker, N.W. (1993). The effect of portfolio-based instruction on composition students’ final examination scores, course grades, and attitudes toward writing. Research in the Teaching of English, 27(2), p.155-174.

Benson, T. R., & Smith, L. J. (1998). Portfolios in first grade: Four teachers learn to use alternative assessment. Early Childhood Education Journal, 25,p.173-180.

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and Classroom Learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), p.7–74.

Brown, J. D. & Hudson, T. (1998). The alternatives in language assessment. TESOL Quarterly, 32(4), p.653-663.

Bruner, J.S.(1990).Acts of meaning, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, in Klenowski, V. (2002). Developing portfolios for learning and assessment: process and principle. NY: Routledge Falmer.

Bruner, J.S.(1986).Actual minds, possible worlds, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, in Klenowski, V. (2002). Developing portfolios for learning and assessment: process and principle. NY: Routledge Falmer.

Burner, T. (2014). The potential formative benefits of portfolio assessment in second and foreign language writing contexts: A review of the literature. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 43,p. 139-149.

Coppola, N. W. (1999). Setting the discourse community: Tasks and assessment for the new technical communication service course. Technical communication quarterly, 8(3),p. 249-267.

De Fina, A. A. (1992). Portfolio Assessment: Getting Started. Teaching Strategies. Scholastic Inc., PO Box 7502, 2931 East McCarty Street, Jefferson City, MO 65102.

Doll,William,E, Jr. (1993). A Post-Modern Perspective on Curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press.

Dysthe, O., & Engelsen, K. (2004). Portfolios and assessment in teacher education in Norway: a theory‐based discussion of different models in two sites. Assessment & evaluation in higher education, 29(2), p.239-258.

Gearhart, M., & Herman, J. L. (1998). Portfolio assessment: Whose work is it? Issues in the use of classroom assignments for accountability. Educational Assessment, 5(1),p. 41-55.

Giménez, J. C. (1996). Process assessment in ESP: Input, throughput and output. English for Specific Purposes, 15(3),p. 233-241.

Gottlieb, M. (1995). Nurturing Student Learning Through Portfolios. TESOL journal, 5(1),p. 12-14.

Hewitt, G. (2001). The writing portfolio: Assessment starts with A. The Clearing House, 74(4), p.187-190.

Kashef, S. H., & Ashrafi, R. (2023). Investigating the Relationship between Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Language Anxiety and Their Reading Ability. International Journal of Practical and Pedagogical Issues in English Education, 1(1), 43-55.

Klenowski, V. (2002). Developing portfolios for learning and assessment: process and principle. NY: Routledge Falmer.

Lam,R(2018). Portfolio Assessment for the Teaching and Learning of Writing. Hong Kong: Springer.

Le Francois, G.R.(1991). Psychology for teaching. Alberta: University of Alberta.

Lopez-Nerney, S., & Binder, C. A. (2004). Portfolios and small group learning: Motivating students in a writing class. Reflections on English Language Teaching,3,p. 27-30.

Mathews, J. (2004). Portfolio assessment: carrying less weight in the era of standards-based accountability. Education Next, 4(3), p.72-76.

Mathews, J. (2004). Teachers struggle for depth despite tests. The Washington Post.

Matsumoto, K. (1996). Helping L2 learners reflect on classroom learning. ELT journal, 50(2),p. 143-149.

Mousavi, S.A. (1997). A dictionary of language testing. Tehran: Rahnama Publications.

Puhl, C. A. (1997). Develop, Not Judge. Continuous Assessment in the ESL Classroom. Forum .35(2), p.2.

Sadler, R.(1985).The Origins and Functions of Evaluative Criteria. Educational Theory, 35(3), p.285-97.

Santos, M. G. (1997). Portfolio assessment and the role of learner reflection. Forum 35(2,p2nd).

Song, B., & August, B. (2002). Using portfolios to assess the writing of ESL students: a powerful alternative? Journal of second language writing, 11(1),p. 49-72.

Torrance, H., & Pryor, J. (1998). Investigating formative assessment: Teaching, learning and assessment in the classroom. UK: McGraw-Hill Education.

Vygotsky, L. S., & Cole, M. (1978). Mind in society: Development of higher psychological processes. Harvard: Harvard university press.

Young,M. (2013). Knowledge, Learning and the Curriculum of the Future. British Educational Research Journal, 25(4). P. 463-77.