The Cooperative School uses the methodology developed by Gaye Gronlund and Bev Engel in their Focused Portfolios™: A Complete Assessment For The Young Child.
Focused Portfolios™ was created in 1998 and is used in the United States and Canada. The Cooperative School has used this method in all three classes since 2007. This comprehensive approach to assessment and information gathering has been very effective.
Teachers are able to document and share information with parents and children as well as establish systematic means to inform teaching practices. Further, children are able to recognize, celebrate, and acknowledge their progress, accomplishments, and strengths.
Through photographs and observations, teachers note a child’s accomplishments in comparison with typically evolving developmental milestones. This methodology informs the way the teachers will present curriculum to both the individual and the group.
In preparation for the review, teachers gather together artwork, drawing samples, writing samples, as well as ideas documented through photographs, drawing, action, or verbal expression, looking for evidence that shows children’s growth and understanding of key concepts. These Artifacts present a story of growth specific to each child, one that may be effectively shared with parents.
