The Impact of Portfolio Assessment on The Moroccan EFL Students’Writing Skills

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine whether or not the integration of portfolio assessment as a part of the assessment practices in the Moroccan EFL context can have any significant impact on the Moroccan EFL students’ writing skills. Accordingly, the study adopted a quasi-experimental design with a sample of two separate groups with a total number of 48 common core students (24 students in each group). The two groups were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The experimental group benefited from ongoing portfolio-based writing assessment activities with various reflection and assessment techniques (i.e. self-and peer-assessment and teacher-student conferences) while the control group was tested using the regular summative writing achievement tests. The two groups were pre- and post-tested to determine the possible impact of the treatment. The experimental group students were also invited to share their views about portfolio assessment using written reflections. The results of the study showed that the students in the experimental group outperformed the students in the control group in their overall writing achievement as well as in their achievement at the level of various writing sub-skills. Additionally, the students’ reactions to the treatment show that the majority of the students had highly positive attitudes toward it in spite of the few reservations they raised.