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9 Volume 2, Issue 4, July-August 201 0 AngloHigher ® The Magazine of Global English Speaking Higher Education ™ ISSN 2041-8469 (Online) ww w.anglohi gher.com Copyright © 2009-10 by Panethnic Limited, All Rights Reser ved. Introduction Portfolio assessment methodology has generated a good deal of interest in re- cent years, with academics taking the lead in exploring ways to use them. The func- tion of assessment exists to offer information about how students are learning and teachers are teaching, in order to facilitate learning and teaching results. Tradition- al testing, such as standardised measurements or norm-referenced instruments, is quite product-based so that it fails to provide process-based evidence of learning and teaching. The problem associat- ed with traditional testing is also that it masks what the students really know or, in the case of English as second/foreign language, what the studen ts can do. As Padil- la et al. (1996 p.429) indicates, “Traditional assessment has emphasized the measurement of a given body of defined and dis- crete knowledge as determined by a student’s performance on an objective test. This approach has often been limited to assessment of student outcomes at a specific point in time and has provided lit- tle information about teaching and learning processes”. In addition, Huerta-Macias (1995) points out that the testing situa- tion itself often produces anxiety with- in the students such that they are unable to think clearly . The students may also be facing extenuating circumstances (e.g., personal problems or illness) at the time that they are being tested; this also can in- fluence the students’ performance on the test. Wolf (1989) more completely depicts the once-over and one-time nature of standardised tests as 1) assessment which comes without a personal responsibility, 2) assessment which measures learners’ performance on the slice of skills that appears on tests, but fails to demonstrate learners’ full range of intuitions and knowledge, 3) sufficiency with first-draft work, and 4) ex- clusion of development. Recently, educators have put emphasis on searching for alternative measurements with which students can be evaluated on what they can integrate and produce in- stead of how well they can memorise. There is no one best alternative assessment method, as well as no single approach to implement alternative assessment techniques. One of the alternative Portfolio assessment, a valid tool to evaluate students ’ achievements possibilities is portfolio assessment; an effective addition to traditional forms of assessment. Portfolios provide evidence of students’ learning p rocesses toward meet- ing their goals as learners and the frame- work or backdrop for teachers’ instruction. Portfolio assessment can also be seen as an effective measurement to compensate the disadvantages of traditional assessment. McNama ra and Deane ( 1995, p. 21) explain the importance of using portfolios as one educational assessment tool by pointing out that it provides “a more com- plete picture of our students’ ability, effort, and progress” and, more importantly, it al- lows students to “have a greater voice in their language learning process”. What is Port folio Assessment? Portfolio assessment is the systematic, lon- gitudinal collection of students’ work cre- ated in response to specific, known instruction and objectives, and afterwards evaluated in relation to the same criteria. The assessment is done by measuring the individual sections as well as the portfolio as a whole against the specified criteria, which match the objectives toward a specific purpose. Portfolio creation is the responsibility of the learner, with teacher guidance and support, and often with the involvement of peers and parents. The au- dience can participate in the assessment of the portfolio. Academics have developed portfolio instruction and assessment criteria, and gained appropriate administrative support. During the development process, they found answers to their own ques- tions, as well as addressed issues concern- ing portfolio assessment coming from col- leagues, students and parents. Concerns are often focused on reliability, validity, process, evaluation, and time. These issues could apply equally to other assessment methods. There is no assessment tool that meets every teacher’s purpose perfect- ly, is entirely valid and reliable, takes no time to prepare, administer, or grade, and meets each student’s learning style. For- eign language educators need to be able to choose and/or design assessments that meet their most important instruction- al and assessment needs and which they have the resources to implement and evaluate. Below are some strengths of portfolio assessment, seen in contrast to traditional forms of assessment, traditional assessment versus portfolio assessment. By Zamira Alimemaj, Lecturer, University of Vlora, Albania and Lavdosh Ahmetaj, Dir ector of the Albanological Center “Aleks Buda”, Kristal University, Albania ww w.univlora.edu.al email: [email protected] www .kristal.edu.a l email: [email protected]

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