Malden High School Senior Portfolio Assignment

All Malden High School seniors must complete a portfolio of their year’s work in English 12.
Students who do not meet the 87 or above exemption must present their portfolio to their class on the
day of the final exam.

The purpose of the portfolio is for students to reflect on their growth as writers over the course of their
senior year and to select a piece for final revision.

The portfolio must contain the following:

 A reflection paper: a personal essay in which the student gives an overall assessment of his/her
growth and improvement as a reader and a writer over the year and evaluates his/her strengths
and weaknesses. Students must use evidence from all of the papers included in the portfolio to
support their claims about their work.
 Portfolios must include the following samples of work:
o A sample of personal or creative work: memoirs, college essays, poetry, short stories,
drama, scripts prepared for performance all satisfy this requirement.
o A sample of work involving research: any work supported by research, including essays
and projects, satisfies this requirement.
o A notebook entry on any text: students should type up a single entry from their
notebooks.
o A literary analysis: both on-demand and revised writing satisfy this requirement.
 A revision of one of the samples, which will include a short (1/2 page) explanation of the
student’s revision choices.

All students will be graded on the following aspects of the portfolio:

1. The Reflection Essay(50 %)

2. The complete preparation of the portfolio(25%)
3. The revision (25%)

Students who do not meet the senior exemption requirement must prepare a portfolio presentation. In
this five minute presentation, students should do the following:

 Introduce themselves and give an overall evaluation of their work this year.
 Explain each of the samples that they chose to include in the portfolio (what they are and why
they were chosen)
 Read one or two of the best moments in each of the samples.
 Explain what they focused on in their revision.

Students should prepare this presentation on notecards and will be evaluated on their preparation and
performance for a final grade.
Malden High School Senior Portfolio Reflection Rubric
45-50 points
Reflections Excellent
Skill Area Reflections at this level:
Demonstrated Demonstrate exceptional
growth growth and as a reader,
writer and thinker over the
year, with the ability to
consistently apply skills and
strategies independently and
effectively
Depth of Demonstrate a conscious
reflection and thorough understanding
of the skills and strategies
acquired throughout the
year, as well as the ability to
articulate several strengths,
weaknesses, and goals for
improvement
Substantiation of Use specific and convincing
claims evidence from his/her work
to support claims and
interpretations, with skillful
explanations of how earlier
pieces of writing could have
been improved
Language use Use stylistically
sophisticated language that
is precise and engaging,
with notable sense of voice,
awareness of audience and
purpose, and varied
sentence structure
Conventions Demonstrate control of the
conventions with essentially
no errors, even with
sophisticated language
Adapted from Greece Central School District for use by Malden High School
40-44 points
Proficient
Reflections at this level:
Demonstrate strong growth
as a reader, writer, and
thinker, with the ability to
apply skills and strategies
effectively and
independently most of the
time
Demonstrate an thoughtful
awareness of the skills and
strategies practiced
throughout the year, as well
as the ability to identify
some strengths, weaknesses,
and goals for improvement
Use relevant evidence from
his/her work to support
claims and interpretations,
with an attempt to explain
how earlier pieces could
have been improved
Use language that is fluent
and original, with evident a
sense of voice, awareness of
audience and purpose, and
the ability to vary sentence
structure
Demonstrate control of the
conventions, exhibiting
occasional errors only when
using sophisticated
language
35-39 points
Acceptable
Reflections at this level:
Demonstrate acceptable
growth as a reader, writer,
and thinker, with the ability
to apply skills and strategies
effectively some of the time
Demonstrate a basic
awareness of some of the
skills and strategies
practiced throughout the
year, with the ability to
identify at least one
strength, one weakness, and
one goal for improvement
Use evidence to support
most of the claims and some
interpretations, with a basic
attempt to explain how
earlier pieces could have
been improved
Use basic but appropriate
language, with a basic sense
of voice, some awareness of
audience and purpose and
some attempt to vary
sentence structure
Demonstrate partial control
of the conventions,
exhibiting occasional errors
that do not hinder
comprehension
30-35 points
Needs Improvement
Reflections at this level:
Demonstrate inconsistent or
limited growth as a reader,
writer, and thinker, with the
ability to apply skills and
strategies on a limited basis
or without even results
Demonstrate a limited
awareness of just one or two
skills or strategies practiced
throughout the year, with
inconsistent reference to the
student’s strengths,
weaknesses, and/or goals
Use incomplete or vaguely
developed evidence to only
partially support claims and
interpretations, with
inconsistent attempt to
explain how earlier pieces
could have been improved
Use language that is vague
or imprecise for the
audience or purpose, with
little sense of voice, and a
limited awareness of how to
vary sentence structure
Demonstrate limited control
of the conventions,
exhibiting frequent errors
that make comprehension
difficult
0-29 points
Unacceptable
Reflections at this level:
Demonstrate little to no
growth as a reader, writer,
and thinker over the year,
with little or no ability to
apply skills and strategies
Demonstrate little or no
awareness of the skills and
strategies targeted
throughout the year, with
only an incomplete
reference to the student’s
strengths, weaknesses,
and/or goals
Use little or no evidence to
support claims and
interpretations, with little or
no attempt to explain how
earlier pieces could have
been improved
Use language that is
unsuitable for the audience
and purpose, with little or
no awareness of sentence
structure
Demonstrate little or no
control of the conventions,
making comprehension
almost impossible
 Name:

Rubric for Portfolio Preparation

Score Point Criteria

Excellent Student’s portfolio contains all necessary elements, including:
 Reflection Essay
20-25 points  Creative sample
 Research sample
 Prepared Notebook Entry
 Literary Analysis sample
 Revision of one sample
 Explanation of revision
Student’s portfolio is neatly organized and nicely presented in a folder or binder.
Satisfactory Student’s portfolio contains all necessary elements, including:
 Reflection Essay
13-20 points  Creative sample
 Research sample
 Prepared Notebook Entry
 Literary Analysis sample
 Revision of one sample
 Explanation of revision

Acceptable Student’s portfolio contains almost all necessary elements.

9-13 points
Unsatisfactory Student’s portfolio is missing 2 or more necessary elements.

0-9 points

Rubric for Revision

Score Point Criteria
Excellent  Student has made strong improvements in the selected work.
 Student has carefully and thoughtfully explained his/her choices in a short
20-25 points essay.

Satisfactory  Student has made good improvements in the selected work.

 Student has explained his/her choices in a short essay.
13-20 points
Acceptable  Student has made some improvements in the selected work.
 Student may not effectively explain improvements.
9-13 points
Unsatisfactory  Student has made little improvement in the selected work.
 Student has not explained improvements.
0-9 points
Portfolio Presentation Rubric
Score 4: 90-100%
-Student is well prepared with
notes, text, and visuals or handouts
-All materials support and enhance
presentation
-Student gives an insightful
overall introduction to and
evaluation of his/her work
-Student thoughtfully explains the
assignments included in the
portfolio
-Student reads key lines from all
assignments, which are well
chosen and interesting
-Student explains the focus and
purpose of his/her revision
-Student speaks clearly and
audibly
-Student demonstrates enthusiasm
-Student listens attentively to other
speakers
-Presentation is at least 5 minutes
and no more than 10 minutes
Score 3: 80-89%
-Student is prepared with
notes, text, and visuals or
handouts
-Student gives an overall
introduction to and
evaluation of his/her work
-Student explains the
assignments included in
the portfolio
-Student reads key lines
from all assignments
-Student speaks audibly
-Student listens to other
speakers
-Presentation is at least 5
minutes and no more than
10 minutes
Name:
Score 2: 70-79% Score 1: 60-69% Score 0: 0-59%
-Student is prepared with -Student may not be -Student does
notes and text prepared not speak or
-Student gives an overall -Student gives an overall speaks
introduction to his/her work, introduction to his/her minimally
but may not evaluate it work, but may not
-Student explains the evaluate it -Student does
assignments included in the -Student explains the not listen to
portfolio assignments included in other speakers
-Student reads key lines the portfolio
from some assignments -Student may not speak
-Student may not speak audibly or clearly
audibly or clearly -Student listens to other
-Student listens to other speakers
speakers -Presentation may not
-Presentation is at least 5 meet time requirements
minutes and no more than
10 minutes