Todd Lieber -- Portfolio-Based Exit Assessment: A Progress Report

Lieber describes the development of a portfolio-based exit assessment Simpson college instituted to replace their old system of large-scale, institutional writing assessment. Prior to the development of the new program, Simpson students submitted an 8-12 page paper at the end of the 7th semester, which was certified by a faculty member as having been written for a particular class. This essay was assessed by two anonymous faculty members from any department.

The college desired a less antiquated system, and one based in current research and pedagogy.

Simpson developed a portfolio system that required students to submit a collection of four essays, drawn from at least two different disciplines, evaluated by faculty from across disciplines. Faculty were resistant at first, but in the end, the conversations and the community writing standard that developed improved faculty's teaching of writing overall, and, thus, student's learning in writing.

Lieber also argues that the entire process lays bare the process of evaluating writing, which makes for a fairer, more even-handed evaluation of student writing across the board. Lieber (1997) says, "Recognizing differences in grading and acknowledging their legitimacy while working toward a degree of commonality has been a largely positive experience" (28).

Lieber (1997) also argues that the portfolio assessment system has a high degree of face validity for students and faculty: "They feel, as we do, that the portfolio is fairer to them and that it allows them to present themselves [as writers] more accurately . . . . They feel less at the mercy of a particular reader's whims on a particular day . . . " (28).