A portfolio is a collection of student work representing a selection of performance that can demonstrate learning and be used as an effective assessment tool. It contains a purposefully selected subset of student work. “Purposefully” selecting student work means deciding what type of story you want the portfolio to tell in a timeline showing mastery of content for the grade level. innovative ideas, and examples of best practices to implement portfolios in elementary, middle, high school and throughout college and university.

For example, in writing instruction, portfolios can function to illustrate the range of assignments, goals, and audiences for which a student produced written material. In addition, portfolios can be a record of the activities undertaken over time in the development of written products.