Portfolios are scored annually by a group of faculty and instructional staff. All portfolios are read at least once, though some are read two or three times to determine the final score.
Regardless of the number of readers, though, each portfolio will receive one of three scores:
Pass, meaning the author has demonstrated all of the required writing skills at the level we expect for Carleton students entering their majors.
Exemplary, meaning that the author has demonstrated the required skills beyond the level we expect for students entering their majors.
Needs Work, meaning that the author has not demonstrated all of the required writing sills at the level we expect for students entering their majors.
Please note that we call the non-passing score “Needs Work” rather than “Fail” because we do not consider this score a failure. Rather, it simply means that the student has not yet demonstrated the core writing skills we’re looking for. There are a variety of reasons why a student might receive a Needs Work, score, and almost none of them reflect a genuine failure on the students’ part. For more information about what a Needs Work, score means and what happens next if you receive one, look here.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Scoring Process
When are portfolios scored, and when will I receive my score?
Portfolios submitted in Winter and Spring term are scored during over the summer, roughly between commencement and the end of July. It generally takes a week or two to process the results after all of the portfolios have been scored, so students are generally notified of their scores via email in mid-August.
Portfolios submitted in Fall term are generally read over winter break, and students are notified of their score shortly before the start of Winter classes.
Who reads the writing portfolios?
All Carleton faculty and instructional staff members (i.e. staff members who directly support student education) are invited to read portfolios, and there are usually about 30 readers each summer. These readers can (and do!) come from any department on campus – Biology, Linguistics, Dance, Art, Economics, the Library, the Writing Center… you get the idea.
How many people will read my writing portfolio?
Usually one or two. If the first reader scores your portfolio as “Needs Work,” or “Exemplary” it will automatically go to a second reader. A few of the “pass” portfolios are also selected at random for re-reading to help us check for inconsistencies in scoring. Regardless of the original score, if the first and second readers disagree, the portfolio goes to a third reader as well to determine the final score (see below).
What if different readers give my portfolio different scores?
If the second reader disagrees with the first, it will be read a third time. If the third reader disagrees with the second and the first, the portfolio receives a Pass.
Please note that the individual readers never see the scores previous readers have given a portfolio, and they generally don’t even know if a given portfolio has been read before. Thus, the scores you receive are based on each reader’s first impression of your work, not the scores that previous readers have given it.
Is there a quota? Are readers supposed to give a certain percentage of “Needs Work,,” “Pass,” or “Exemplary” scores?
No. On the first day of the portfolio reading, we conduct a “norming” session, in which the whole group of readers read a collection of sample portfolios and we discuss what general qualities distinguish a portfolio as an Exemplary, Pass, and Needs Work. However, readers are instructed to apply these criteria independently to each portfolio they read and explicitly told not to consider how many of each score they award over the course of the reading days.
How many students generally receive Exemplary or Needs Work scores?
In any given year, roughly 6-10% of students receive scores of Exemplary, and roughly the same number receive scores of Needs Work. As the math would indicate, this means that roughly 80-88% of students receive a Pass.
Does my original grade on an assignment affect its score in my portfolio?
No. Your portfolio readers will have no knowledge of the grades you received on the pieces in your portfolio, so it’s impossible for those grades to directly affect your score.
Furthermore, you should keep in mind that the grades you receive in a course reflect many factors–your knowledge of the subject matter, your engagement with certain course concepts, etc. Your portfolio readers, on the other hand, only assess the quality of your writing. Because of this, it’s possible for a piece that received a high grade in the original course to be negatively reviewed by your portfolio readers. It’s also possible for a piece that received a less than stellar grade in the course to be well-written enough to impress your portfolio readers, especially if you revise that piece for the portfolio.
What feedback will I receive?
Portfolio readers are not allowed to make any comments on the portfolios themselves. Instead, readers write a few general comments on each portfolio and submit these along with their scores.
A week or so after you receive your final score, you’ll receive a second email that includes the score sheets from all of your reader(s). Most portfolios are read only once, so most students will receive a single score sheet, but you may receive as many as three. The score sheets will contain the individual scores each reader awarded your portfolio, plus some written comments explaining the reader’s rationale.
Most portfolio students find that, even if the scores disagree, the feedback from the readers is generally fairly consistent. For example, three readers might agree on a student writer’s general areas of strength and weakness, even if they disagree on whether those strengths and weaknesses add up to a Pass, Exemplary, or Needs Work score.
We’ll be honest, though: the amount of feedback readers are able to give can feel a little anticlimactic. With nearly 500 portfolios to score each summer (and over 700 individual readings to determine those scores), readers simply can’t respond with the kind of detailed feedback you may be used to from your instructors. This doesn’t mean that they didn’t read your portfolio carefully and thoughtfully. However, we hope that the primary benefit to you will come from assembling the portfolio, writing the reflective essay, and thinking about your learning over the past two years. The comments from your readers might help to explain your score, but they’re unlikely to make the entire experience seem valuable in and of themselves.
If you have questions about your score or your comments, contact the WAC Director, George Cusack.
What if my portfolio doesn’t pass?
Students who receive a Needs Work score will work with the Director of Writing Across the Curriculum to identify the areas where they needs to improve and to develop these skills in their future classes. For more information on this process, see “What Does a Needs Work Score Mean?“