“JOURNAL OF SCIENCE-INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN
UZBEKISTAN” JURNALI
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 04, 2025. APRIL
ResearchBib Impact Factor: 9.654/2024 ISSN 2992-8869
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ASSESSING B1 LEVEL LEARNERS' WRITING SKILLS THROUGH
PORTFOLIO AND ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
Saydumarova Sevara Yunusovna
Uzbekistan State World Languages University
Magistratura 1-kurs Xorijiy til va adabiyot fakulteti
Abstract
: The primary focus of this study was to determine the effect of
portfolio assessment on final examination scores of EFL students’ writing skill. To
determine the impact of portfolio-based writing assessment 40 university students
who enrolled in composition course were initially selected and divided randomly
into two experimental and control groups. A quasi-experimental research design was
adopted in this study. In order to appraise the homogeneity of the experimental and
control groups Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT) was employed at the
beginning of the study. The pre-test was applied to both the experimental group and
control group. Later in the study, a post-test of dependent variables was implemented
for both groups. Data analysis was carried out by SPSS 16 statistical computer
program .The statistical techniques being applied were the Levene statistic of One-
Way ANOVA and the Paired-sample T-test. The results of the study revealed that
that students whose work was evaluated by a portfolio system (portfolio-based
assessment) had improved in their writing and gained higher scores in final
examination when compared to those students whose work was evaluated by the
more traditional evaluation system (non-portfolio-based assessment).The findings
of the present study highlighted the fact that portfolio assessment could be used as a
complementary alternative along with traditional assessment to shed new light on
the process of writing.
Keywords
: Portfolio, Portfolio assessment, Writing skill, Portfolio- based
instruction
Writing is often considered one of the most challenging skills for language
learners. At the B1 level, learners are expected to write coherent and cohesive texts,
though they may still make errors in grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. The
challenge for educators is not only in identifying these errors but also in measuring
learners' overall writing development.
“JOURNAL OF SCIENCE-INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN
UZBEKISTAN” JURNALI
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 04, 2025. APRIL
ResearchBib Impact Factor: 9.654/2024 ISSN 2992-8869
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Two primary methods for assessing writing skills at the B1 level are portfolio
assessment and achievement tests. Portfolio assessment involves the collection of a
learner's work over time, which allows for a deeper, more comprehensive view of
their writing progress. Achievement tests, on the other hand, focus on assessing
writing performance at a specific point in time, providing a snapshot of the learner's
abilities under test conditions. This paper aims to explore both methods in detail,
providing insights into their effectiveness and suggesting ways in which they can be
applied to better assess B1-level learners' writing skills. Portfolio Assessment Yang
(2003) defined portfolio as a compilation of students’ work, which documents their
effort, progress and achievement in their learning, and their reflection on the
materials negotiated for the portfolio. Crosby (1997) indicates that the primary
purpose of portfolios in EFL context is to increase the level of students’ motivation
and to give them a sense autonomous learning. The portfolio as a self-reflection
assessment has appeal because it changes the way writing has been graded
traditionally and institutes a grading system whereby the teacher shares control and
works collaboratively with students (Berlin 1994). Portfolio assessment is used as
an evaluation tool for reviewing the status of student progress and development. The
components of the portfolio are decided by the teachers, the students, or through an
agreement between teachers and students. Portfolio-based writing assessment has
attracted a considerable amount of interest in colleges and universities because they
link teaching, learning, and assessment within the discipline and across disciplines
in the college curriculum. Hamp-Lyons &Condon (2000) argue that the “greatest
theoretical and practical strength of a portfolio, used as an assessment instrument, is
the way it reveals and informs teaching and learning” (p.4). Lee (2001) points out
that portfolio assessment prioritized student-centered over conventional concept of
teaching. Although portfolio assessment of writing promised potential benefits for
writing skill development in ESL and EFL context, the traditional psychometric
opponents criticize its principles and practice. Writing assessment is a critical part
of language instruction, providing teachers with valuable insights into a learner's
progress. The B1 level, as defined by the Common European Framework of
Reference for Languages (CEFR), is an intermediate stage of proficiency, where
learners can produce simple connected text on familiar subjects but may still have
significant errors in their use of language. To assess learners at this level, educators
“JOURNAL OF SCIENCE-INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN
UZBEKISTAN” JURNALI
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 04, 2025. APRIL
ResearchBib Impact Factor: 9.654/2024 ISSN 2992-8869
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often rely on both portfolio assessments and achievement tests. These methods,
while distinct, can provide complementary insights into a learner’s development and
help identify areas for improvement. Portfolio assessments involve the collection of
a learner’s written work over a period of time, offering an opportunity to track
progress, reflect on writing skills, and set goals for future development.
Achievement tests, on the other hand, assess a learner’s writing ability at a specific
point in time, typically under time constraints, and are often used to measure a
learner’s performance against predefined learning objectives. This paper aims to
discuss the merits and limitations of these two assessment tools, and how they can
be used together to provide a comprehensive picture of B1-level learners' writing
abilities.They voiced their frustration over the issues of design decision, logistics
and interpretation. They also challenged the portfolio assessment's time-consuming
nature, and the issues of reliability and validity (Brown &Hudson 1998). Hamp-
Lyons &Condon (2000) believe that in portfolio assessment both reliability and
validity are necessary and must be addressed. Williams (1998, 2000) argues that
without standards for implementation and outcomes, portfolio assessment will
become unfair because "it increases the subjectivity teachers bring to
evaluation"(2000, p.136). This unreliability will threaten portfolio assessment
benefits because portfolio assessment was supposed to, "developed with the goal of
making the evaluation of classroom writing more objective, more fair, and more
realistic" ( 2000, p. 147 ) .
Lack of Formative Feedback: Unlike portfolios, achievement tests do not allow
for in-depth reflection or ongoing feedback that can help learners improve their
writing skills over time. Reliability needs to be based on performance instead of
idiosyncratic scores that have no preset criteria (O’Malley and Pierce, 1996). One of
the main problems of reliability in L2 portfolio assessment is inter-rater reliability,
consistency of scores because teacher are not used to this new concept of assessment.
The psychometric view of reliability is too narrow to take into account the “less
standard forms of assessment” such as the portfolio. Portfolio assessment requires
that readers be trained to agree and to score papers based on a common rubric that
describes numerical points. Rubrics should include development and organization,
fluency of idea (problem) description, and mechanics (O’Malley and Pierce, 1996).If
readers agree, there is a reliable rate of agreement. If readers do not agree, there is
low interrater reliability. Without a sufficiently high rate of reliability, scores cannot
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be considered valid. Portfolios can be used to support or even determine a grade
when a well defined scoring guide or rubric is developed by both the teacher and the
learner (Defina 1992, P.37). O’Malley and Chamot (1990) indicated that a key
element of portfolios is student self-assessment; without self-assessment and
reflection on the part of the student, a portfolio is not a portfolio. According to these
researchers, the self-assessment called for by portfolios can have several outcomes
for the student: students take responsibility for knowing where they are with regard
to learning goals; students broaden their view of what is being learned; and students
begin to see language learning as a process. This study is also addressees the use of
portfolios in writing assessment for self-assessment in an EFL context.
Portfolio-based Instruction The implementation of a portfolio assessment
system in many classrooms today is of great interest to teachers and researchers at
every level of education. Murphy (1999) states that they are implemented in
classrooms in order to accomplish various goals. These goals range from providing
students with a sense of ownership, motivation, accomplishment to assessing
curriculum needs for demonstrating competency. Because of the number of goals
associated with the implementation of portfolios, Murphy categorized them into
three groups: "teaching tools, professional development, and assessment purposes"
(p. 4). The Portfolio approach is used for both evaluation and instruction. Once the
goals, assignments and the criteria of the portfolio are set by the teacher and the
student, the daily classroom portfolio-based instruction starts. In the curriculum,
portfolio-based instruction is basically conducted through individualized
tutorials.The teacher and the student work together to find materials within the
student's interests to complete their assignments. Literature in the portfolio research
(Vizyak, 1996) suggests that the role of the ESL teacher in a portfolio approach
involves planning both mini-lessons and individualized tutorials or conferences with
individual students based on the teacher's understanding of the students needs. The
teacher uses information in student portfolios to diagnose student needs and to guide
instruction. Portfolios give the teacher a solid foundation on which to base
instruction. Student portfolios provide the teacher with a record of student strengths
and areas for improvement.
Method This study is intended to determine the effect of writing and assessing
portfolios on final examination scores of EFL students’ writing. The design for this
study is Quasi-experimental in nature, since the classroom groups are already in
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place and had to be intact. In order to have a strong quasi-experimental design,
internal threats to validity were controlled by use of pretesting. To be confident that
there were no significant difference among the subjects of the Experimental Group
(EG) and Control Group (CG) regarding the variables under investigation, both
groups were pre-tested at the beginning of the experiment.
Subjects The sample for this study was drawn from the students who were
enrolled in second-semester freshman English composition course at E.C.O. College
of Insurance. Initial enrollment in this course totaled 68 students. Out of 68
examinees, the researcher finally nominated 40 participants and randomly divided
them into two experimental and control groups. All students have completed at least
one previous three-credit composition course; approximately all of these students
have also completed an additional Intermediate General English course. None of the
students have prior experience with portfolios. Both groups involved in this study
were taught by the same teacher in order to provide uniformity of instruction.
Therefore, the researcher and the instructor were the same. Writing is a crucial skill
in second language acquisition, and assessing it accurately is essential for
understanding learners’ progress and identifying areas that need improvement. In
the context of English language teaching, the B1 level of the Common European
Framework of Reference (CEFR) represents an intermediate stage, where learners
can produce coherent texts on familiar topics, though with some errors in grammar,
vocabulary, and spelling.
Assessing B1 learners' writing skills requires a careful balance between
measuring achievement and development over time. This paper focuses on two key
methods:
portfolio assessment
and
achievement tests
, both of which provide
valuable insights into a learner’s writing ability. Portfolios allow for ongoing
reflection and development, while achievement tests provide a snapshot of learners’
performance at a particular point in time.
Portfolio Assessment
Portfolio assessment is a comprehensive, learner-centered approach to
evaluating language skills. It includes a collection of a learner’s work over time,
showcasing their writing development. Portfolios are used not only for assessment
but also for reflection and self-regulation, helping learners identify their strengths
and weaknesses in writing.
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Components of a Writing Portfolio
A typical writing portfolio includes several components:
1.
Drafts and Revisions
: These show the learner’s process of writing,
highlighting changes made to improve their text.
2.
Final Products
: Completed assignments, essays, and short texts that
demonstrate a learner’s final writing outcomes.
3.
Reflection Logs
: Learners reflect on their work, noting challenges,
progress, and areas for further development.
4.
Peer and Teacher Feedback
: Comments from peers and teachers help
learners understand their writing mistakes and strengths.
5.
Self-Assessment
: Learners assess their own progress, which
encourages critical thinking and self-awareness in their writing abilities.
Advantages of Portfolio Assessment
Holistic View
: Portfolios provide a comprehensive view of a learner’s
progress over time.
Focus on Process
: They emphasize the writing process, not just the final
product, offering insight into learners’ development and strategies.
Encourages Self-Reflection
: Learners become more autonomous as they
reflect on their work and set goals for improvement.
Motivating
: Portfolios encourage learners to keep track of their growth,
making the assessment less intimidating and more rewarding.
Challenges of Portfolio Assessment
Time-Consuming
: Creating and reviewing portfolios requires significant
time from both teachers and learners.
Subjectivity
: The reflective nature of portfolios may lead to inconsistent
evaluations depending on individual interpretations.
Learner Engagement
: Not all learners may be motivated to engage with the
portfolio assessment process, especially if they do not see its immediate benefits.
Achievement Tests
Achievement tests are more formal assessments that measure learners’ writing
ability at a specific point in time. These tests typically focus on language skills such
as grammar, coherence, cohesion, and vocabulary usage. Achievement tests are
often designed around specific learning objectives, such as writing essays or
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responding to writing prompts that assess students’ ability to organize and express
ideas clearly.
Types of Achievement Tests
1.
Timed Writing Tasks
: Learners are asked to complete writing tasks
within a specific time frame, such as writing an essay or a letter. These tests assess
the learners’ ability to perform under time pressure.
2.
Written Responses to Prompts
: A prompt is provided, and learners
are required to write a response, often in the form of a composition or a short essay.
This type of test assesses creativity, clarity, and coherence in writing.
3.
Error Correction
: Learners may be given a piece of writing with
intentional errors, and their task is to correct those errors. This assesses grammar
and accuracy.
Advantages of Achievement Tests
Objective
: Achievement tests are generally more objective, with clear criteria
for marking, such as grammar, vocabulary, and organization.
Quick Assessment
: These tests provide a fast method of assessing writing
skills, giving immediate feedback to learners.
Structured
: Achievement tests are well-structured, providing a focused
evaluation of a learner’s writing skills.
Challenges of Achievement Tests
Limited Scope
: Achievement tests usually assess writing skills in a limited
context, often focusing on grammar and organization, while ignoring the writing
process or individual creativity.
Stressful
: Timed tests may induce stress in learners, affecting their
performance and potentially providing a skewed assessment of their actual writing
ability.
Lack of Long-Term Feedback
: Achievement tests provide little insight into
a learner’s progress over time and may not reflect their full range of skills.
Comparing Portfolio and Achievement Tests
While both portfolio assessment and achievement tests provide valuable
insights, they each have their strengths and limitations.
Portfolio assessments
offer
a deeper understanding of a learner’s writing journey and development, encouraging
self-reflection and autonomy. However, they are time-consuming and subject to
individual interpretation. On the other hand,
achievement tests
offer a more
“JOURNAL OF SCIENCE-INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN
UZBEKISTAN” JURNALI
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 04, 2025. APRIL
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objective and structured approach but are limited in scope and may not provide a
complete picture of a learner’s writing skills.
A combined approach—using both
portfolio assessment
and
achievement
tests
—can be highly effective for assessing B1 learners. Portfolios allow for
ongoing reflection and development, while achievement tests provide snapshots of
learners’ writing skills at particular moments. This combination ensures a balanced
and comprehensive assessment approach, allowing both teachers and learners to
identify strengths and areas for improvement.
Conclusion
The assessment of B1 learners’ writing skills is essential for their continued
language development. By utilizing both portfolio assessment and achievement
tests, teachers can obtain a holistic view of learners’ progress, encouraging self-
reflection and providing structured feedback. Though each assessment method has
its challenges, combining them can provide a more nuanced and comprehensive
understanding of a learner’s writing abilities. By engaging in both reflective
portfolio assessment and formal achievement tests, learners can develop their
writing skills in a more balanced, well-rounded manner. This approach will
ultimately support learners in improving their writing proficiency and becoming
more effective communicators in English. In conclusion, assessing B1-level
learners' writing skills through portfolio assessment and achievement tests provides
valuable insights into their writing development. Portfolio assessment allows for a
holistic and continuous evaluation of a learner’s writing process, while achievement
tests offer a more focused, standardized measure of their writing abilities at a given
time. By combining both methods, educators can gain a comprehensive
understanding of learners’ strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement,
ultimately guiding their development as proficient writers. The use of both portfolio
assessment and achievement tests ensures that learners receive both formative and
summative feedback, allowing them to track their progress and make meaningful
improvements to their writing skills.
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