Many parents of preschoolers want to know that their children are already beginning to follow a curriculum that will prepare them for kindergarten and first grade. Keeping a portfolio with student assignments in it prepares the teacher for parent conferences; with that folder at her fingertips, she can connect each assignment to a section in the preschool's curriculum.
Obviously, in preschool students won't be taking standardized tests -- or even doing very much writing, beyond letters and, perhaps, the most basic sight words. This means that teachers have to work harder to find student work that supports their assessment of progress. That way, when parents question a teacher's marks on a progress report, the teacher can use work from the portfolio to point out student strengths as well as areas for growth.
Student portfolios can enhance parent interest in what is going in the classroom and garner support at home. Portfolio assignments can include work done both at home and in the classroom; for example, teachers could put pictures with assignments inside each portfolio and send it home overnight. That way, parents could look at their children's work and complete an assignment in which the parent and the child talk about the picture and answer questions about it together, putting the answers back in the portfolio to send back to school. This helps parents partner in the educational process.
Students create online portfolios to view work at school and home. You also share portfolios with extended members of family. While they won't be blogging about experiences on the playground, teachers upload student drawings done on paper. Students also draw on related software programs. It's also possible to upload assignments onto the blog for parents to see, as long as the site is password protected to safeguard student confidentiality.