Teachers have used the portfolio technique with their students for years, utilizing its power as a learning strategy that takes its place along other approaches to student learning. In keeping all written work, students and teachers have at their disposal records that support:

• Assessment
• A record of student growth
• Enhanced student responsibility for learning
• Recognition of recurrent patterns in writing
• A record of the student's personal story.

What are described as ‘portfolios’ may take different forms, depending on their purpose. They may be for record-keeping only, and include standardized tests, graded written work, progress reports, etc. They may record the student’s personal story, and include video tapes, photographs, and autobiographical writing.

Of course, teachers themselves often keep professional portfolios, filing examples of assignments, reflections on teaching, notes from conferences, etc.

A more narrowly-defined portfolio with a specific purpose is represented by the “literacy portfolio,” which demonstrates that, as one teacher points out, “Our literacy is who we are.” An example of a fourth-grader’s literacy folder includes the following artifacts and student comments:

• A drawing: What it was like before the student could write.
• A draft of a piece of writing he had published as a book, as part of an art project. "This is the first book I wrote. I can write books," the student wrote.
• A piece of recent writing. "Before I couldn't write this good, and now I can."
• A list of books he can read. "This says I'm a reader and I can read these books."
• A favorite book. "I like this book because my mom used to read it to me."
• His report card from the previous year. "This was the best report card I ever had."
• A photo of his father. "I miss my father. He has to stay in jail for 12 years."
• A photo of his grandparents. "I love my grandparents. They take me on trips."

In the interest of providing clear purpose and a coherent sense of progress with respect to portfolio learning, the data folder offers a new way of approaching this learning strategy. The data folder not only supports student learning, but contributes to an understanding of the improvement process. Data that is kept in this kind of portfolio may include personal information, but it may also be composed of mission statements, goals, and assessment tools that the student has utilized. The student makes full use of the data folder, reflecting on progress week-to-week or day-to-day, as well as offering it as a showcase of improvement in student-led conferences. Because the data folder will not include "everything," on the one hand, or only writing samples, on the other, it gives a clear sense of student progress across the curriculum.

Teachers and parents alike indicate that data folders help them to assess student progress, enhance communication in conferences, compare student performance to standards established by the district or state, reinforce improvement and study habits, provide basis for improvement, and help students compete with themselves for improvement.

Of course, the quality tools play a key role in building data folders. Data gathering and data analysis tools are fundamental to the data folder process. These include:

• Operational definition
• Check sheet
• Bar graph
• Line graph (run chart)
• Pareto diagram

While data folders can be used to assess progress toward achievement of state standards, they can include data that reflects behavior goals as well. In fact, creating behavior calendars as a first step, and then branching out into academic content, offers an easy way to utilize the data folder in the improvement process. What follows is a ‘behavior calendar’ that is part of one student’s data folder content:

One approach to learning how to make optimal use of data folders is to pursue training that provides a clear sense of purpose, efficient strategies, and ways to use information gleaned from the data folder to enhance learning. PQ Systems offers such training as an on-site opportunity for colleagues to develop strategies and align their students’ performance with state standards. Click here to learn more about this opportunity.

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Got stories?
Many of you have used the Process and Tools to improve classroom processes and support learning. We’re opening Quality School Line to a series of these stories, and invite you to send details of your experiences with the improvement tools. If we use your story, we will send you a copy of Alfie Kohn’s book, Punished by Rewards, a stimulating discussion of the role of external and internal motivation in student learning. All you need to do is describe how you’ve used a particular tool, tell us a little about your school (its location, number of students, and a little about its quality journey), and indicate your position in the school. We can identify you and your school or not, as you prefer. Your colleagues who are looking for concrete ways to apply these tools will thank you! If you have applications of your own that you’d be willing to share with other teachers e-mail them to K12@pqsystems.com