TA News

There is a common sentiment among researchers that what gets tracked is what gets prioritized. This certainly has a ring of truth to it in schools.

Report cards, for example, give us key information on how students are doing in individual classes each semester. They are an essential metric to understanding academic progress – but they don’t have to be the only one.

Since 2021, we have been integrating portfolios and transferable skills into our school-wide curriculum at Thetford Academy. Requiring students to develop and maintain an academic portfolio during their years at TA adds an extra layer of what we track and prioritize when it comes to student growth and learning.

Organized around our school’s five ‘big picture’ transferable skills, the portfolio process encourages students to zoom out and take a holistic view of their academic experience – at school and beyond. Through gathering and documenting evidence of their learning and community involvement, students make connections between classes and across disciplines; they critically reflect on assignments and their growth over time; they become more aware of their own strengths and challenges; they get better at setting goals; they come to value the process of learning more deeply; and, ideally, they become more confident, engaged, and motivated learners – and people in the world.

While the process of creating and curating a portfolio is mostly a private endeavor (with the support of one’s teachers and advisor), we also make time for students to share highlights of their portfolio more publicly. During Roundtable Days in the spring, students present in advisories. We use a roundtable format to promote audience engagement, with rounds of questions and kudos following each presentation. Roundtable Days are both high stakes and celebratory, as students rise to the challenge of sharing their portfolios with an audience, in a setting designed to foster a sense of community and positive feedback.

I realized it’s ok to have some vulnerability in your presentation and talk about struggles rather than just showing off accomplishments. It’s great to be proud but one of the most honorable things is overcoming a challenge, especially at our age. -Grace Elmer, Class of 2025

So, what’s the point of portfolios? To track, reflect on, discuss – and thereby prioritize – our journey as learners.