My teaching philosophy regarding assessment is that competence in an academic subject, such as in language 'acquisition' and literacy development--cannot be fairly measured using traditional standardized testing methods. I believe competence in a specific language and literacy skill can be more fairly assessed through sustainable practice and repeated experience, and more importantly by asking the learner to pause and reflect on their strengths and limitations in a specific area of their development. I believe it takes a lifetime to master any skill, therefore, the focus in my class will not be on acquiring 'points'--the focus in my class will be on how you demonstrate learning through your own self-awareness and participation in our guided discussions and activities that will make you more aware (depending on how engaged you are, that is) of certain elements of writing. Self-reflective writing allows you to discuss your literacy practices and thus, in my class you will be formally assessed using portfolio assessment where you show how you learned to read, write, and research.  To learn more about my rationale for portfolio assessment, and the efficacy of portfolio assessment, watch the video below.

• Ashley Finley, Senior Director of Assessment and Research for the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) and National Evaluator -- Bringing Theory to Practice, discusses the role of portfolios in assessing student learning. 

• Citation:  Center for Engaged Learning. (2015, January 14). Ashley Finley on the role of portfolios in assessments of student learning. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/....