Key points of the ''authentic assessment portfolio''

The use of assessment portfolios can (a) provide teachers with important information about children's progress, (b) enable children to participate in their own assessment, and (c) help integrate curriculum and assessment. Implementation of the assessment portfolio, though, is not easy. Remember to start slowly, trying two or three new tasks, and to develop an organized system for keeping records and sharing information with students and parents (Valencia & Paris, 1991). The time and effort teachers invest in implementing authentic assessment portfolios will allow them to make better educational decisions for individual children because portfolio assessment involves a variety of indicators across a variety of situations. Portfolio assessment also values process as well as product. By developing and using authentic assessment, the true purpose of assessment - making better educational decisions for all children - can be achieved.