In Assigning, Responding, Evaluating: A Writing Teacher’s Guide, Edward White advocates asking students to write a specific kind of reflection on their portfolios. White argues against grading portfolios holistically–a method he claims is best for grading individual essays–or by simply averaging the scores of all the pieces comprising the portfolio. Instead, White argues that students should write a reflective letter which argues how their portfolios fulfill the course goals. This letter, then, “becomes the overt argument, using the portfolio content as evidence that the goals have been met” (178). This exercise forces students not only to reflect on the course goals as they compile their portfolios, but to revise their final products in light of those goals. By reflecting on the extent to which their portfolios fulfill the course goals, students will realize the strengths and weaknesses of their writing. White suggests that teachers primarily focus on this reflective letter when grading students’ portfolios, yet teachers should still grade the portfolios themselves, especially in light of whatever revisions students have made to earlier drafts of their work. White himself recognizes that there “may well be important qualitative differences between the reflective letter and the content of the portfolio” (183). An exceptionally well written reflective letter may not fully compensate for a relatively poor portfolio and vice versa. Moreover, students should also reflect on their writing process, especially how and why they revised earlier drafts. Still, White’s suggestion seems to be a good one.
