Researching about portfolios that are used in a mathematics classroom, eliminated the belief that portfolios were only used in classes like English Language Arts, or History. I found many examples and success stories that described how teachers used portfolios in their mathematics classroom to create a process and product driven assessment that is student driven. Mathematic portfolios gives students the opportunity to explore classmates work and enables students to set goals.
I learned from my classmates’ research, that rubrics can have stages within each level (see photo below). I believe that this idea benefits the students, because they can gauge how close they are to progressing into the next level. Drawing on my previous experiences, when I was required to grade a peer I would give them a mark that was associated with the closeness of our friendship. Therefore, it lead me to believe that peer assessments should only be utilized when students have to complete a group project, and report on the group dynamics that occurred. I was informed by my classmate, it is beneficial for the students to receive criteria from the teacher on how they are to mark their peers (i.e. checklist, rubric, etc.). This method allows each students to provide an accurate grade, because they have to justify it according to the indicated criteria.
I believe that having diversity in assessment strategies creates valid and reliable learning reports. For example, a student that struggles with writing tests may be strong at interviewing, therefore, having a variety of assessments gives students the chance to succeed. What the students are being assessed on should revolve around what is being taught to them. Having different assessment tools will allow educators to continually integrate assessment while still providing the students with instruction and learning activities.