Student Portfolio

Portfolios are collections of students' work over time. A portfolio often documents a student's best work and may include other types of process information such as drafts of the student's work, the student's self-assessment of the work, and the teacher's assessment.  Portfolios may be used for evaluation of a student's abilities and improvement, and usually show developmental trends throughout high school.

If you are planning to undertake a postsecondary education, it is necessary to plan early.  A portfolio designed to demonstrate your accomplishments and competencies may assist the admissions recruiter at the postsecondary institution.  Take your portfolio along on your visit or to your interview on campus, or send a copy with your application.  Items you might want to include are as follows:

• Work samples (reports, models or pictures of projects you have completed, papers you have written, evidence of your participation on teams or school activities, descriptions of volunteer work)
• Materials that are selected by students to reflect their educational perceptions
• Interest inventory results
• Letters of recommendation (teachers, school counselors, employers, administrators, coaches, etc.)
• Standardized test results
• Personal statement of future goals

There are three types of portfolios:

• Showcase model (consisting of work samples chosen by the student)
• Descriptive model (consisting of representative work of the student, with no attempt at evaluation)
• Evaluative model (consisting of representative products that have been evaluated by criteria)