NCTN Promising Practice Series Portfolio

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                     NCTN Promising Practice Series:
                    Transition Student Portfolio Model


The NCTN Promising Practice Series presents detailed descriptions of strategies
from the field that are designed to promote the successful transition of students
from ABE to postsecondary education.

Contributed by
Community Learning Center (CLC), Cambridge MA
CLC Bridge Program
Patricia Fina, Instructor, oneleaf@speakeasy.net
A member of the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project
New England Resource Center, World Education, Inc.


Rationale and Background of the Practice

Why did you institute the practice?
In the early years of the CLC Bridge Program, we graduated just about every
student who was still attending at the end of the year, regardless of whether they
had completed homework assignments or been serious about applying to
college, seeking financial aid, etc. Many of the graduates from those years did
not continue. We suspected that it was because the college preparedness
component of the program emphasized study skills but did not require the
students to heed college and financial aid deadlines or complete their
applications while we were there to help them through the process.

Secondly, many of our students over the years have been organizationally
challenged and somewhat overwhelmed by all the handouts. The portfolio master
list focuses the students’ attention on what the teachers believe is important for
graduation from the transition program.

What information or research did you draw on in choosing this practice?
The portfolio model is a long-established one. I have long advocated that adult
diplomas be based on portfolios rather than standardized tests. Like many
teachers, I find that having students prepare projects and assignments for their
portfolios keeps their interest in class better than doing drills of problems they are
likely to find on the final exam. Also, I feel that portfolios are far more useful to
the students after graduation. They serve as a tangible reminder of the students’
accomplishments and, if they contain critical documents like applications,
transcripts, test scores and the like, they can serve as a reference book about
the students’ academic progress.



                          National College Transition Network
               New England Literacy Resource Center, World Education, Inc.
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When and how did the practice begin? How has it evolved?
Early in the history of the Bridge Program, we discovered that a few of our
students could earn exemption from taking a required study skills course at
Cambridge College and other universities if they showed the work they had done
during Bridge. So, we always advocated that students keep a neat notebook that
they could show to professors when they entered college.

In 2000, we began requiring that students keep their writing assignments
(including rough drafts) in a separate binder and show them to us during the one-
on-one conference each student has just prior to graduation. At that time, math,
computers, and study skills were not included.

During the year, when students turned in portfolio items for grading, I returned it
to them in a plastic sheet protector so they would keep it safe and neat for the
rest of the year. Throughout the year, we held “portfolio check-in” nights so we
could see which students were completing the items on time and which needed
more help. In the final pre-graduation conference with each student, we
conducted the final portfolio check-in to approve the student for graduation.

Assessment for all written work is guided by the instructor’s expectations for each
project. The expectations are clear and are actively discussed in class. Most
projects require several drafts before an assignment is completed and put into
the portfolio model. The students do get tests that are graded and those also go
into the portfolio.

We recognized the need for a formal, written set of guidelines captured in a
rubric to be shared with the students prior to the assignments. We are
developing these rubrics with student input and they will be used in assessing
both written work and oral presentations in the next academic cycle. We want
the students to participate in the assessment process so both the student and the
instructor will evaluate the project using the same criteria.



Description of the Practice
How do you implement the practice?
In August of 2003, we agreed to move to an all-portfolio format and developed a
master list of required items. We included it in the student handbook so that
students would know from day one what was required for graduation. We also
produced a large-type version of the list with the items for each section of the
portfolio on a separate page to act as the table of contents for that section of the
final portfolio.

What steps would a program or practitioner need to follow to replicate it?
All staff members of a program need to decide what items to require, which will
probably be a variation on the list we use:


                          National College Transition Network
               New England Literacy Resource Center, World Education, Inc.
                                                                                  3


                          Part I: College Preparedness

Required Items:

      Library card from the city you live in [Note: Students are required to
      complete a one-page form listing their library’s hours of operation, Internet
      rules, etc. At the first portfolio check-in night, the teacher records the
      library card number on the form before giving the student the sheet
      protector so the form can go in the portfolio. This is a good assignment for
      the first week of class.]
      Diplomas/transcripts/GED certificates from your academic career prior to
      Bridge
      Photocopy of your application(s) to college(s)
      2004-05 course catalog from your college, appropriately tabbed [at the
      page listing courses for the student’s major, at the academic calendar, at
      the financial aid page, etc.]
      Photocopy of your 2003 federal income tax return (the one you submit in
      spring 2004)
      IRS instructions for completing educational tax credit forms [Ideally, each
      student should have IRS Publication 970 and a copy of form 8863.]
      Photocopy of your FAFSA with PIN number postcard
      Photocopies of all scholarship applications
      Copies of letters of recommendation

Items to be Added as You Receive Them:
      Acceptance letter from your college
      Financial aid award letters
      Tuition/fee bills for each term with proof of your payments attached
      Report cards for each term you attend
      Official correspondence from your college (except purely junk mail)


                                Part II: Computers

Required Items: (on diskette and in printed form where applicable)

      Computer Skills Inventory
      Email address (Hotmail, Yahoo, other) [Students are asked during the first
      computer lab to email the teacher with a few sentences about their choice
      of college and major. The teacher prints that email for inclusion in the
      portfolio.]
      Personal timeline (Word) [This is a prelude to the autobiographical essay
      required in the writing section and so should come early in the cycle.]
      Resume (Word)
      Business cards/personal cards (Publisher) [This item can be done by
      students only if Microsoft Publisher is available at their computer lab If

                         National College Transition Network
              New England Literacy Resource Center, World Education, Inc.
                                                                                   4


      only a teacher has access to Publisher and a color printer, the cards could
      still be included in the portfolio, but as a nice “welcome to the professional
      world” graduation gift.]
      Business Letter (Word)
      Google search results (Internet and Word)
      Outline (Word) [If this assignment is given late in the cycle, the outline can
      be part of the research paper required in the writing portfolio. For the
      Bridge Program, the assignment happens to fall early in the cycle, so the
      outline is, instead, an article about the history of colleges and universities
      in Europe and the US.]
      MLA-style bibliography (Word)
      Budget (current and 2004-05 projected) (Excel)
      Data project and graph (Excel)

Optional Items: (on diskette and in printed form)

      PowerPoint presentations
      Access databases
      Other examples of applications and/or programming code


                                   Part III: Math

      [Note: Students are given take-home exams for each unit. Students who
miss more than five questions on an exam must take a retest on the same
material to pass the unit.]

Required Items:

      Set unit study notes and exam
      Numbers and numeration unit study notes and exam
      Arithmetic operations unit study notes and exam
      Fractions unit study notes and exam
      Decimals unit study notes and exam
      Percent unit study notes and exam
      Ratio and proportion unit study notes and exam
      Measurement unit study notes and exam

Optional Items:

      Probability unit study notes and exam
      Geometry unit study notes and exam
      Algebra unit study notes and exam
      Coordinate geometry study notes and exam




                         National College Transition Network
              New England Literacy Resource Center, World Education, Inc.
                                                                                     5


                                   Part IV: Writing

Required Items: (rough drafts, printed final draft and file on diskette where
applicable)

       Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences Inventory
       Personal/Reflective Writing I: If you could change your name, what would
       you change it to?
       Personal/Reflective Writing II: Write about your school history and the type
       of learner you are.
       Summary of Short Story
       Descriptive Writing
       Expository Writing: Write about a person who made a positive difference
       in your life.
       Autobiographical Essay
       Research Paper
       Oral Presentation
       Copies of all tests and quizzes



What are the staffing and staff skill requirements?
It helps if staff members are highly organized themselves. There is a lot of
tracking of paper involved. (It helps if the program buys sheet protectors in bulk
so that each teacher can distribute them to students as the students complete
each portfolio item.)


Challenges

What challenges has the program encountered in implementing this
practice?
One student objected to using actual figures in the budget assignment, so we
dropped it.


Evidence of Impact and Effectiveness

What have been the advantages and outcomes of this practice?

   o Students seem to grow in enthusiasm as they see the portfolio growing.

   o The number of students completing the program and applying to college
     has improved since we have formalized the portfolio process.




                          National College Transition Network
               New England Literacy Resource Center, World Education, Inc.
                                                                                  6


Do you have actual evidence of its effectiveness?

        OUTCOME                   CLASS OF 2003                   CLASS OF 2004
Percentage of students
who had applied to                       44%                             83%
college by Bridge
graduation
Percentage who had
been accepted to college                 38%                             67%
by Bridge graduation
Total received in privately
funded scholarships              $5,000 (+$1000 this                   $25,000
                                        year)

All-portfolio format begun in August of 2003 for Class of 2004.



NCTN Promising Practice Series
Volume 1 Issue 2
September/October 2004




                          National College Transition Network
               New England Literacy Resource Center, World Education, Inc.