Graduation portfolios are one option that Rhode Island districts and schools can select for their school-wide diploma assessments. In general, portfolios are collections of student work that document educational performance over time. A portfolio typically includes a range of materials (e.g., reports, photographs), some required by schools and others selected by the students. It may also include a brief introduction and summary statement describing how the portfolio was assembled and what was learned in the compilation process. Graduation portfolios, when functioning as a school-wide diploma assessment, require formative and summative student reflections and a final evaluation by a panel of trained reviewers.

The portfolio toolkit is a process-oriented and resource-rich guide to designing, implementing and sustaining a portfolio system that meets all requirements for a Rhode Island school-wide diploma assessment.