A Case Study Of Portfolio Assessment Used For EFL Senior Students In Nanchang Foreign Language School

That assessment is an integral component of education and instruction is no new notion. However, the role of assessment has long been distorted and tests are the only means of which the assessment is made; and the score is the only criteria for assessing performance of learning and teaching. This traditional means of assessment fails to reflect students' day-to-day performance in study; and it overemphasizes quantitative analysis in terms of score and ignores students' practical ability and attitude during the process of learning. The New English Curriculum Standard published by the Ministry of Education redefines the role of assessment in a much broader way and by more concrete terms. It is no longer a one-way means while students are involved interactively by means of reflecting and teachers' measurement and parents' judgment. Assessing students through portfolios is that dimension of assessment which is based on the principle of partnership with the students. As advocated by the proponents of portfolio assessment, having students take the onus for what they have to learn and how they; have to learn, fosters student participation in learning.This study attempts to investigate the effect of portfolio on the students' day-to-day performance, learning autonomy and collaboration with their peers in and outside the class in the context of a local secondary school.The research was conducted on two classes of senior secondary students in Nanchang Foreign language school. After the process of content negotiation and during the process of students' portfolio compilation, periodic feedback was solicited from them on how creating portfolios led them to more autonomous and collaborative learners.Results show that portfolios have led to higher meta-cognitive awareness of...