Barriers to the implementation of portfolio assessment in secondary education

Portfolio assessment is becoming a popular medium for the merging of classroom assessment and large-scale testing because portfolio use facilitates good instruction while providing concrete evidence of how well students have achieved specific educational outcomes. The adoption of this testing format, however, requires a shift in the focus of curriculum and instruction. As with any type of educational reform, numerous potential barriers exist that may prevent teachers from adopting portfolio assessment in their classrooms. This study investigates the barriers to large-scale portfolio implementation by surveying secondary teachers who are interested in adopting these forms of assessment. Survey results are analyzed with a rating scale model based on the Rasch (1980) measurement theory, and suggestions are presented for facilitating the efforts of secondary educators.