ERIC Number: EJ1029329
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1499-6677
EISSN: N/A
The Reality of Assessing "Authentic" Electronic Portfolios: Can Electronic Portfolios Serve as a Form of Standardized Assessment to Measure Literacy and Self-Regulated Learning at the Elementary Level?
Bures, Eva Mary; Barclay, Alexandra; Abrami, Philip C.; Meyer, Elizabeth J.
Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, v39 n4 Fall 2013
This study explores electronic portfolios and their potential to assess student literacy and selfregulated learning in elementary-aged children. Assessment tools were developed and include a holistic rubric that assigns a mark from 1 to 5 to self-regulated learning (SRL) and a mark to literacy, and an analytical rubric measuring multiple sub-scales of SRL and literacy. Participants in grades 4, 5 and 6 across two years created electronic portfolios, with n=369 volunteers. Some classes were excluded from statistical analyses in the first year due to low implementation and some individuals were excluded in both years, leaving n=251 included in analyses. All portfolios were coded by two coders, and the inter-rater reliability explored. During the first year Cohen's kappa ranged from 0.70 to 0.79 for literacy and SRL overall, but some sub-scales were unacceptably weak. The second year showed improvement in Cohen's kappa overall and especially for the sub-scales, reflecting improved implementation of the portfolios and use of the assessment tools. Validity was explored by comparing the relationship of portfolio scores to other measures, including the government scores on the open-response literacy questions for the Canadian Achievement Tests, fourth edition (CAT4s), the scores we assigned to the CAT4s using our assessment tools, and scores on the Student Learning Strategies Questionnaire (SLSQ) measuring SRL. The portfolio literacy scores correlated (p<0.01) to scores we assigned the CAT4s using our assessment tools, and to government pre-CAT4 scores, but the self-regulatory learning scores did not correlate to our measure of student's self-regulation. The results suggest that electronic portfolio assessment is time-consuming and difficult due to the range of varying evidence within even a single individual's portfolio and that it may not be fair to do across diverse classrooms unless there are shared guidelines or tasks.
Descriptors: Portfolio Assessment, Electronic Publishing, Elementary School Students, Literacy, Independent Study, Scoring Rubrics, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Scores, Comparative Analysis, Achievement Tests, Correlation, Holistic Evaluation, Interrater Reliability, Validity, Writing Evaluation, Foreign Countries
Canadian Network for Innovation in Education. 260 Dalhousie Street Suite 204, Ottawa, ON K1N 7E4, Canada. Tel: 613-241-0018; Fax: 613-241-0019; e-mail: cnie-rcie@cnie-rcie.ca; Web site: http://www.cjlt.ca
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Intermediate Grades; Grade 4; Grade 5; Grade 6
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A