Portfolios are commonly used in healthcare education; they allow students to showcase their
experience and learning journey whilst allowing them to demonstrate reflective practice, ethical
principles and self-directed learning. The large volume of information contained within portfolios
can, however, make them onerous and difficult to mark and present challenges in marking
consistency. This study analysed several marking strategies to ascertain the optimal sampling interval to ensure validity, reliability and fairness whilst ensuring time efficient marking.
Progression analysis also identified differences across domains: clinical experience, self-directed study and case study discussion plateaued early after 6 months, whereas higher order skills plateaued later at 8 months. The results found that Sampling a portfolio at regular intervals can maintain acceptable levels of validity & reliability (35% - 40%* of the total portfolio), care however must be taken when assessing higher order and “soft skills” skills with more weight given to the later part of the portfolio
