Effects of portfolio-based assessment on EFL students’ conceptions and approaches to writing

Researches in general education as well as in language teaching have clearly shown the pivotal role conceptions of learning played on students’ learning outcome. However, there are paucity of researches on instructional and assessment schemes that promote deep conceptions of writing. The main objective of this study, therefore, was to examine the effects of Portfolio-Based Assessment (PBA) on EFL students’ conceptions and approaches to writing. To this end, a pretest posttest control group quasi-experimental research design was adopted, and two sections were chosen from first-year Natural Science Stream students at Wollo University, Dessie Campus. From the two groups, totally 60 participants were chosen randomly, and four types of data collection instruments namely; conceptions of writing scale, essay writing tests, interviews and reflection sheets were employed. The quantitative data were analyzed mainly by using one sample t-test and independent samples t-test, and the qualitative data were also analyzed thematically. During the intervention that stayed for 8 weeks, the students in experimental groups were assessed by writing portfolios. The students in controlled group, however, were assessed by using conventional assessment schemes. As the findings revealed, significant changes in students’ conceptions of writing and writing performances were observed between participants in experimental and controlled groups. The findings suggest that PBA influences EFL students’ deep and meaningful conceptions of writing by way of supporting their independent and out-of class learning endeavor. Moreover, the findings hold implications for using PBA to boost EFL students’ writing self-efficacy beliefs and concern for reflection and revision. © 2023 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.