Portfolio Sample Q & A

1. Is there a good rule of thumb when selecting a portfolio sample?

A good rule of thumb is to step back from your sample, and ask yourself what someone who didn’t know this student would see in the sample. Would they be able to clearly see “student work/activity/learning” and understand what they are seeing? Plus, the portfolio is our request to the state for school funding. Does this sample show student learning towards state standards?

2. Is a copy of a page of music that a student is learning to play a good sample for music?

A page of music doesn’t demonstrate any student learning to an auditor. Music samples could consist of: A picture of the student playing their instrument or performing at a recital & an accompanying essay; a program brochure/sheet listing the student’s performance on it along with a picture &/or an accompanying essay; an essay written by the student as a part of that course (might be on Bach or Mozart, for example); a completed page from a music theory workbook.

3. For Special Interests, is a page out of a program from a theatrical production that a student

was part of an acceptable sample?  The page lists their name next to the character they portrayed.

The program by itself does not “show” student work.  If the student wrote about that experience, or if there was a picture of the student on the stage in costume or at rehearsal, that would work in addition to the program. The older the child, the more you would expect to see.

4. Is a photocopy of the cover of a book adequate for reading?

A photocopy of the cover of a book doesn’t demonstrate any student learning to an auditor. Reading samples could consist of: a picture of the student having the book read to them and some quotes they made about the story (K-1^st only!); the student reading log for a month or semester; a book report or other written work associated with reading; a phonics worksheet; a picture of a project created for a unit study around a book.

5. Can a student draw a picture or write a paragraph about a PE activity?

Yes, that activity demonstrates student learning in PE, so is a good portfolio sample. Other PE

samples could consist of: a score card for a sport the student participated in along with an

accompanying essay or picture; pictures of a student participating in a sport with their time log

listing the specific activity. An assessment by the student of their progress over the log period

should be included.

6. Would a PE check-off sheet be an acceptable portfolio sample?

A PE check-off sheet could be an acceptable portfolio sample, if it is specific enough to show what

the student did for PE. A simple statement that the student “Spent 30 minutes a day on PE” is too

vague. A PE log learning sample should consist of a daily log completed by the student (or parent if

the student is not yet capable), documenting the date, the time spent in the activity, and the name of

the PE activity. An assessment by the student of their progress over the log period should be

included, either written or quoted.

7. Why are time/activity logs acceptable for PE and not all other growth areas?

The State Standards for PE have “participation” in a physical fitness activity as a standard. Therefore, an activity log demonstrates student mastery of that standard. Most of the other growth areas do not have this type of standard.

8. How do I collect a portfolio sample for a Conversational Foreign Language class when they are doing no written work?

Remember a portfolio sample must demonstrate student learning. This would be a good time to use an audio or video recorder to capture the student using their conversational language skills. A still photograph of the student using the foreign language would not be acceptable, though, as no oral learning can be captured in a photo.

9. Is a photocopy of the table of contents of the student’s textbook adequate?

A photocopy of the table of contents of the student’s textbook doesn’t demonstrate any student learning to an auditor. Textbook learning samples could consist of: Written answers to questions from the textbook; a student’s written outline of what they read; an essay on the topic; a picture of a project they completed related to the topic.

10. Are grades from a CP instructor, a SME, a SME worksheet, or an RSP teacher acceptable as a portfolio sample?

Grades are recorded on the student’s report card, and not in the portfolio. The portfolio needs to show student’s work to support that grade the ES/SME gave on the report card.

11. Would a written statement saying “Johnny read 40 minutes every day” be an acceptable portfolio sample?

Don’t confuse learning record information with portfolio samples! The learning record tells what, but the portfolio sample shows what is in the LR. This would not be acceptable to an auditor, as it is too vague to show learning progress. A reading log learning sample should consist of a daily log completed by the student (or parent if the student is not yet capable), documenting the date, the time spent reading, the number of pages read, and the name of the book read. This type of sample will show student learning progress throughout the month. (Note: This is not the best way to document reading progress and should only be used in extreme cases after you have checked with your advisor.)

12. Is it acceptable to just cut off or white-out any sectarian references on the portfolio sample before submitting it?

No. Portfolio samples must come from materials purchased by the school for the student’s learning or from materials that could have been purchased by the school. A sectarian learning sample does not meet these portfolio requirements, and cannot be used by the school to claim state ADA dollars.

13. How should I proceed if the parent does not want their young student to do any written work on a regular basis, and it is too late or they object to pictures or audio or video recordings being taken of their student?

This is a good opportunity for you to use a worksheet you have provided to assess learning in their courses. Remind the parent that portfolio samples were discussed at their 1^st enrollment meeting, and ask to administer and collect the samples you have brought to the meeting to document their learning, or ask to take pictures and talk with your student. If the student is very young, take a picture of the student engaged in a learning activity, then ask them to tell you something about that activity (put those statements in quotes). For example, if they studied community helpers, they may be dressed up in a fireman’s outfit for the picture and then give quotes such as: “The fireman comes to our house to put out a fire. The firemen live at the fire station”. Etc.

14.  Does a picture of the student standing with his soccer team work?

A picture of the student playing the sport is appropriate, but not a team picture or a posed picture in uniform. If you have a picture of the student actually playing the sport, then ask the student to explain what is happening in the picture and write it down in quotes (or the parent can), or have the student write the information—that shows student work. 

15.  I have a typed summary of the swimming skills a student has learned through swim lessons and swim meets with pictures included as well as the name of the group "Monterey Bay Swim Club", which is not a vendor yet.

Who typed the summary?  If it was the student, then it is acceptable—if you or the parent or the vendor—not acceptable. Pictures of the student swimming—great! Team name must be removed! We don’t want the vendor, or instructor, or location identified on any portfolio sample—we just want to see student learning demonstrated.

16. How do I know if I can include learning with an item/activity that the school did not purchase?

o If an item/activity may be paid for with school funding according to school policy, then you can include it, even if the parent pays for the item/activity themselves. 

o If the student is using curriculum their parent purchased, and we couldn’t purchase it, then that sample can NOT be included in the portfolio.  They must demonstrate learning in that area through another means.

o If the student is taking, for example, scuba diving lessons, or is kayaking, or if the student is jumping on their personal trampoline, the school cannot pay for those activities (insurance issue), therefore a sample of these activities cannot be included in the student’s portfolio, nor can you document in the student’s LR.  The student did these activities on their own time, not the school time, and we have nothing to do with it.

o If in doubt, contact your ES Advisor for help!

17. If I can’t get a sample from the parent in the course they are doing (for example, Earth Science), can I bring a worksheet I have on hand, even if it is not that course (Biology)?

No. The LR samples MUST be an assignment from their course of study, not just a generic sample you pulled for them to complete for the portfolio. But, you may bring something to ask them to do to assess what they have learned in their course of study (an Earth Science inventory you pulled from the internet).

18. My student is doing all of their courses on the internet. How do I get samples?

Ask your student to print out an assignment from the internet for you each month. It may take some looking at the program together to figure out the best page to print for you. Some programs only show one problem on each page. It is best to print out an entire assignment worked on at one sitting, but if that is not possible, then print out one problem worked out and print out the scoring page for that assignment, then attach them together for the portfolio sample.