The Comparative Effect of Portfolio Assessment and Peer-Assessment on EFL Learners' Critical Thinking and Speaking Achievement

Abstract

This study compared the effects of portfolio assessment and peer-assessment on EFL learners' critical thinking and speaking achievement. For this purpose, 32 EFL learners attending Diplomat Institute in Tehran were non-randomly selected based on their scores on PET. They were randomly assigned to two experimental groups of 16. The portfolio assessment group went through the procedure of creating portfolio based on Evaluation Portfolio Model recommended by Valencia and Calfee (1991). The peer-assessment group practiced peer-assessment according to Yamashiro and Johnson's (1997) Model. Finally, both experimental groups took a speaking test of PET and a critical thinking questionnaire as posttests. The data analysis using RM ANOVA revealed that both experimental groups had similarly a higher post-treatment level of critical thinking. The analysis of a Mann-Whitney U test on the gain scores revealed that the level of post-treatment speaking in the peer-assessment group was significantly higher compared to the portfolio assessment group.