Dear English 101 Student:
The SFCC English faculty engage in a department-wide form of student evaluation called portfolio assessment. Since 1990, our English 101 students have assembled portfolios of their written work to demonstrate their mastery of collegiate writing. This assessment allows students to satisfy the SFCC writing requirement on the basis of their best writing, writing they've had a chance to think about and revise, and it helps us increase the consistency of our grading.
Twice during the quarter--at the mid-point and the end--your work will be read by other English teachers to determine whether your writing meets minimum standards for completing English 101 with a C. In the mid-term portfolio, we read a single essay; this "dry-run" informs you of the standards we apply. You should submit three essays in your final portfolio: 1) a description and/or narration; 2) an analysis relying on sources documented in the MLA style; and 3) an impromptu essay ensuring that you've mastered focus, organization, and the Standard English idiom of formal writing. Revised papers should have a cover sheet describing the writing assignment, what you regard as successful in the essay, and your writing process, that is, the feedback you received and the changes you made in revising.
When English faculty meet to read portfolios at the middle and the end of the quarter, they decide which ones meet the department's standards of competency. To earn a C (2.0) or higher in the course, your portfolio must pass. You may not enroll in an advanced composition class (English 201 or 205) with a C-. If your portfolio passes, you are not guaranteed a C; your grade may be lowered by other factors such as missing assignments, poor attendance, late or consistently unsatisfactory work. It is therefore essential that you observe the policies your instructor outlines on the syllabus. The English faculty reading the portfolios must be confident that the work you submit is really yours; thus we ask for an in-class writing sample on which you've had no help. Instructors will not forward portfolios to other English faculty unless they are confident it is original work; they will insist on seeing successive drafts of your essays and lots of in-class writing.
Although most of us dislike the sword of judgment hanging over our heads, many students have enjoyed the outcome of portfolio assessment: recognition for the writing they have created and polished during the quarter from a teacher who reads their work with a fresh eye.
Portfolios pass if each essay has a clear focus, paragraph development that is organized and specific, and a good command of sentence structure. Portfolios fail if they contain more than a very few mistakes in grammar, punctuation, spelling, or typing. They fail if the focus of the writing is fuzzy and the organization unclear. They also fail if they have more than a few sentences so tangled that the meaning is unclear to the reader on first reading. This level of clarity and correctness may be more challenging for some people to achieve than for others. Your instructor is there to help you meet this challenge. We insist on this level of clarity because you can achieve it: you have the opportunity for feedback and careful revision.
We believe that department-wide evaluation benefits you. Students are well-served when they learn to write for a particular audience and reflect on that achievement. Students are well-served when faculty agree about what constitutes good college writing. Students are well-served when Mr. Smith's grade of C means the same as Ms. Jones's C. The enterprise of higher education is well-served when the participants talk openly about the standards we uphold and when teachers help learners discover how to meet those standards for themselves. We are happy you share this learning enterprise with us!
Sincerely yours,
Alexis Nelson, Ph.D.
Director of Composition