Evaluation proposal based on the ECTS: evaluating the four skills in a university core subject with a portfolio

Abstract

This study will concentrate specifically on the use of the portfolio as an element of evaluation in the core subject English Language IV in the degree English Studies at the University of Alicante as an answer to the changes that the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) requests in the teaching-learning process. This paper will emphasize the importance of the portfolio for evaluation to be a continuous process and its consequences in students having to assume the responsibility for their learning process. This article will present a detailed evaluation proposal with a portfolio, paying special attention to the different activities that are part of it. The grades students got with it during the academic year 2009-2010 being evaluated with a portfolio will be compared with those they got in 2008-2009, when the evaluation proposal was based just on a traditional final exam. The data will show that, using a portfolio, students get better grades, although this implies a considerable amount of extra work for teachers and students.