STUDENT’S LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT WITH

TRADITIONAL ASSESSMENT AND PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Research

Language learning is important for human’s social development. As a language which is used by more than a half of population in the world, English holds the key as international language. English is a tool of communication among peoples of the world to get trade, social-cultural, science, and technology goals. Moreover, English competence is important in career development, therefore students need to understand and use English to improve their confidence to face global competition.

English as a formal subject is given to junior high school (SMP) level, which the goals are translated as follows: “The goals of teaching and learning English for this level are improving the four English skills. They are the mastery of the receptive skills (reading and listening) and the mastery of the productive skills (speaking and writing), within a specified word level and relevant grammatical structures and notions, in the context of the specified themes which are enclosed for junior high school (SMP) students” (Balitbang Depdiknas, 2002:42).

The fact shows that the result of teaching learning English is still low. Somantri said (2003) that there can be a wonder about the condition of the student’s English ability. The students have learned English from the first-grade of junior high school until senior high school, but most of them still cannot use English as tool of communication. Zamroni in Somantri (2003) found that it not only happened to the students who have score below five, but the students who have score over eight in junior high school can not use English in real communication in their level. Besides, their receptive skills are also below the expectation. For example, the students who have graduated from senior high school, they still find difficulty in reading English literatures (Balitbang Depdiknas, 2002:1).

These failures are influenced by many factors. According to Zamroni in Somantri (2003), it happens because of the education system at school just transfer the dead knowledge where the knowledge is separated from the application. Teachers teach materials that will be tested. The goal is that the students get good score in the final test. While Ali in Ant-O2 (2005) argues that the low of the students quality in teaching and learning English happens because the students are used to memorizing and doing multiple choice assignment. Both of arguments above show that the process of teaching and learning English is not so support the improvement of life skills. Students can get good score in the final test and they can memorize the theory well but they cannot use English in real communication.

Assessment is one of important thing that has important role in education. The importance of assessment in education is stated by Hughes (1989) who says that the proper relationship between teaching and assessment is partnership. By assessment process teacher can discover how far students have achieved the objectives of a course of study. Teacher also can use the result of assessment to analyze which material that should be explained again and which instruments that should be repaired. Besides, assessment is useful for the students to motivate in teaching learning process.

Based on the earlier observation, researcher finds that most of teachers still use traditional assessment. The students are given some tasks in the form of multiple choice, do the LKS, practice a dialog in textbook and another task, which make the students as a passive subject. Traditional assessment includes multiple-choice questions and asking students to respond questions with short answers. Many kinds of task are given in order the students can respond the questions with correct answers in the final test. The product of learning is more emphasized then the process it self. Teacher gives quizzes and tests to assess cognitive aspect only. This kind of assessment is just recall student’s memorization.

In traditional assessment process, teachers give less attention and rarely to assess the student’s work. It brings the students become lack of attention toward their error in finishing their work. According to Kasiram (1984:10), learning will be on the decline if the students do not know the result of their work. The students want to know feedback of their effort in doing the work as a motivation in learning process. Dimyati and Mudjiono (2002:48) stated that students would be more motivated in learning if the students know the result of their work as a feedback.

Under the government policy, the Ministry of National Education develops new curriculum to improve the education quality that is Competency Based Curriculum. The success of Competency Based Curriculum may be consider successfully if followed by the change of teaching and learning strategy at class, the choosing of media, and the choosing of assessment process. (Balitbang Depdiknas, 2002:1). Assessment processes in Competency Based Curriculum are

more varies. One of them is Portfolio Assessment.

Arter & Spandel (in Luitel, 2002) state the notion of portfolio. The literary meaning of the term ‘portfolio’ is a collection of the past work. However, in the context of assessment, portfolio does not represent only a mere collection of the past work. The Northwest Evaluation Association urges that the portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that tells the story of the student’s effort, progress, or achievement in given areas. Portfolio can be viewed as a systematic and organized collection of evidence used by the teacher and student to monitor the growth of student’s knowledge, skills, and attitudes in a specific content area.

The indicators of portfolio assessment are daily test result, structured tasks, anecdotal record, and report of the student’s activity out of school (Budimansyah, 2002: 108). These indicators are put on the list and documented in a file. From the collection, teacher assesses skill of the students. Teacher turns the students to see their ability in learning by using portfolio and turns the students to be careful in doing the work, pay attention to the error in their work and correct the error.

Based on the background, researcher interested in studying the student’s learning achievement in the classes which use traditional assessment and portfolio assessment. Researcher was conducting this study on the students of SMP 4 Jambi, with the title “Student’s Learning Achievement with Traditional Assessment and Portfolio Assessment”.

1.2 Formulation of the Problems

The problems of this research are:

(1) How is the student’s learning achievement with traditional assessment?

(2) How is the student’s learning achievement with portfolio assessment?

(3) How is the difference between the student’s learning achievement with traditional assessment and portfolio assessment?

1.3 Objectives of the Research

Based on the research questions above, the main purposes of this research are to find out the following:

(1) To describe the student’s learning achievement with traditional assessment.

(2) To describe the student’s learning achievement with portfolio assessment.

(3) To find out the difference between the student’s learning achievement with traditional assessment and portfolio assessment.

1.4 Significance of the Research

The result of this research might be significant for education field, in the form of giving information to the teachers and the students about how portfolio is implemented at school especially at SMP 4 Jambi. Furthermore, it might be able to help the teachers and the students understand benefits and weakness of using portfolio assessment. It also can be a reference for further research, especially a research about portfolio assessment.

1.5 The Limitation of the Research

This research is limited to the following problems:

(1) The lesson that will be studied in this research is English subject for the 1^st semester of the 1^st Class at SLTPN 4 Jambi.

(2) The subjects who are involved at this research are the students of the 1^st class who still use traditional assessment and also the students who have used portfolio assessment at SLTPN 4 Jambi.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

In order to sharpen the theoretical framework of this study, this chapter is devoted to review some relevant theories and studies concerning with teaching and learning process, traditional assessment, and portfolio assessment.

2.1 Teaching and Learning Process

Winkel (1989: 36) defines learning as a psychology activity that holds in active interaction with the environment, which produces many changes of knowledge, skills, and attitude. While, according to Slameto (1995: 2), psychologically, learning is a changing process as a result of the interaction with the environment to fulfil the needs in life. The changing is not only in increasing knowledge, but also skill, attitudes, the way of thinking, interest, adaptation, and the others. Learning is an activity done by everyone that can be hold anywhere and anytime.

From those definitions, apparently, learning is an activity done by human being as an effort to get knowledge (cognitive), to create attitudes (affective), and to raise concept and skills (psychomotor) as a result of the interaction with the environment. In learning process, the dominant activity is the interaction between teacher and the students (Sardiman, 1986:170).

According to Sudjana (in Djamarah, 1995: 45), the same as learning, teaching is a process. There are processes of controlling, organizing, motivating, guiding, facilitating, and giving feedback to the students in process teaching and learning. Teaching process is not only putting premium on product, but also on learning process. So, teacher needs evaluation’s instrument that can be used to assess all of students’ learning process step by step.

2.2 Traditional Assessment

Traditionally, assessment is held at the end of teaching-learning process. Its purpose is to know whether the students have understood the subject that is learned or not. Certain grade is used to decide the understanding degree of the students to the subject. If the students get a good grade at the test, it means that they passed. On the contrary, they didn’t pass if they get bad grade. This notion is the traditional notion of assessment (Budimansyah, 2002).

According to Solomon (2004), the traditional purpose of assessment is to summarize student knowledge and progress at the conclusion of a unit of study. Traditional assessment includes multiple-choice questions and asking students to respond the questions with short answers.

From those notions of assessment, it is clear that traditional purpose of teaching and learning process is in order the students can respond the questions with correct answers. The product of learning is more emphasized then the process it self. Teacher gives quizzes and tests to assess cognitive aspect only. This kind of assessment is just recall students’ memorization. This is seldom requiring students to apply what they know and can do in real-life situations. It encourages instruction of less important skills and passive learning.

Table 2.1 bellow represents differences between Traditional Assessment and Portfolio Assessment (Brown, 2004:13).

Table 2.1 Traditional and Portfolio Assessment

Traditional Assessment	Portfolio Assessment
One-shot, standardized exams Timed, multiple-choice format Decontextualized test items Scores suffice for feedback Norm-referenced scores Focus on the “right” answer Summative Oriented on product Non-interactive performance Fosters extrinsic motivation	Continuous long-term assessment Untimed, free-response format Contextualized communicative tasks Individualized feedback Criterion-referenced scores Open-ended, creative answers Formative Oriented to process Interactive performance Fosters intrinsic motivation

2.3 Strength of Traditional Assessment

Although alternative forms of assessment are currently popular, traditional assessment should not necessary be eliminated by other type of assessment because it do have strength over other forms of assessment. According to Watson and Taylor (1994), traditional tests are less time consuming than most other forms of assessment, even when they include higher level thinking items. It is also relatively easy to validate and determine internal consistency for traditional multiple choice test. Brown and Shavelson (in Watson and Taylor, 1994) say that traditional tests are valid for testing students’ factual knowledge.

2.4 Weakness of Traditional Assessment

The weakness of traditional assessment are described by Applebee (in Luitel, 2002) that the traditional notion of assessment cannot assess the student learning process realistically because it views the assessment as the notion of knowledge-out-of-action. It tends to prompt the students to overcome with basic skills only. Although basic skills may be important goals of education, they are often over-emphasized in an effort to raise test scores. Basic skills and minimum competencies become the overarching goal of schools and teachers as accountability and minimum competency exams concentrate on these areas (Bond, 1995).

In traditional assessment process, teachers give less attention and rarely to assess the student’s work in every meeting. It brings the students become lack of attention toward their error in finishing their work. According to Kasiram (1984:10), learning will be on the decline if the students do not know the result of their work. The students want to know feedback of their effort in doing the work as a motivation in learning process. Dimyati and Mudjiono (2002:48) stated that students would be more motivated in learning if the students know the result of their work as a feedback.

2.5 Portfolio Assessment

There are many theorists who give definition about portfolio. According to Yasin (2001), in the beginning, portfolio is only collection of task, learning experience, exhibition, and assessment of own work result in art areas. From the collection, teacher assesses painting skill of the students. So that assessment result is not only from final test. Final test sometime is not shows the student’s ability because the students’ work at the final test can be influenced by the situation and condition at the time, for example the students is in pain or less concentration, so they can’t make good work.

Paulson et all in Kemp and Toperoff (1998) give definition about portfolio:

Portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the student’s efforts, progress, and achievements in one or more areas. The collection must include student participation in selecting contents, the criteria for selection, the criteria for judging merit, and evidence of student self-reflection.

In this way a portfolio is a living, growing collection of a student’s work. Each addition is carefully selected by the student for a specific reason which he will explain. The overall purpose of the portfolio is to enable the student to demonstrate to others learning and progress. The greatest value of portfolio is that, in building them, students become active participants in the learning process and its assessment.

Arter & Spandel in Luitel (2002) state the notion of portfolio. The literary meaning of the term ‘portfolio’ is a collection of the past work. However, in the context of assessment, portfolio does not represent only a mere collection of the past work. The Northwest Evaluation Association urges that the portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that tells the story of the student’s effort, progress, or achievement in given areas. According to Simon and Forgette-Giroux in Luitel (2002), the portfolio is a cumulative and ongoing collection of entries that are selected following a given framework, and reflected upon by the student, to assess his/her development of a specific but complex competency. Similarly, portfolio is also known as a record of the child’s process of learning that portrays

the learner’s style of thinking, questioning, analysis, production, creation, and the like (Grace, in Luitel, 2002). Commonly speaking, the portfolio can be viewed as a systematic and organized collection of evidence used by the teacher and student to monitor the growth of student’s knowledge, skills, and attitudes in a specific content area.

According to Genesee and Upshur (in Brown, 2004:256), a portfolio is a purposeful collection of students’ work that demonstrates their efforts, progress, and achievements in given areas. Portfolios include materials such as: essays and compositions in draft and final forms; reports, project outlines; poetry and creative prose; artwork, photos, newspaper or magazine clippings; audio and/or video recording of representations or demonstrations; journals, diaries, and other personal reflections; test, test scores, and written homework exercises; notes on lectures; and self and peer-assessments (comments, evaluation, and checklists).

It can be summarized that portfolio is the collection of student work and documentation about the students learning progress (i.e., the students’ task, test, performance, and activity) regularly and continuously. Portfolio can be in form of the students’ work, the students’ answer to the teacher’s questions, anecdotal record of the students, report of the students’ activity, and the students’ composition or journal.

2.5.1 Basic Principle of Assessment in Portfolio Assessment Model

Portfolio assessment model relates to a number of assessment basic principles (Budimansyah, 2002). The assessment basic principles are:

(1) Principle of process and product assessment

Portfolio assessment model applies process and product of teaching and learning. The assessment of learning processes are got from anecdotal record about the students’ attitudes in learning, their enthusiastic, and many others. Another aspect of process assessment is assessing structured task from teacher whether the task is done well and seriously or not. Beside that, process assessment can be done by viewing the report of the students’ activity outside of school whether they have activity that supporting their learning process or not.

(2) Principle of periodic and continual assessment

Assessment should be done periodic and continue. Periodic assessment is conducted to facilitate the organization of learning results. While the goal of continual assessment is to view the growth and development of the students’ learning experienced.

The examples of periodic assessment are having formative test and summative test, having structured task at the end of a chapter, having anecdotal record in every meeting, and having the report of student’s activity out of school once in a month. It is doing continually from the first meeting until the end.

(3) Principle of fair assessment

In giving assessment should pay attention to individual differences. All of indicators in portfolio assessment are taken into consideration and each of them is giving score, so the result is describing the process. In other words, the student who has good learning experienced, he/she will have big opportunity to have success.

(4) Principle of social implication assessment

By learning the students should come up with such asocial implication, that means meaningful for the others. Learning is not only get a good grade or pass the examination, but it should have implication toward the students’ attitudes and skills. Portfolio assessment is not limited in assess cognitive aspect, but also affective and psychomotor, involves social implication. This learning experience is functionally needed in real life in the future. To enter real life system is needed provisions, not only a mark or a piece of licensed.

2.5.2 Indicator of Portfolio Assessment

There is no standard form of portfolio assessment, but generally it must content cognitive, affective, and psychomotor area. Teacher can improve it according to the needs (Budimansyah, 2002: 118). From the indicators, teacher can make a result fairly.

Portfolio may be contains of two subfolders, they are subfolder of collection of the student’s works and subfolder of documentation of the students score during the learning process. Portfolio’s content can be varied based on the goal, level of the students, and kinds of activity at class.

Format of the assessment in portfolio for English subject that is used by the teacher in this research contains of:

Rusoni (2001) gives an example of rubric scoring that can be used for giving score to the student’s work:

Table 2.2 Portfolio Rubric Scoring

SCORE	DESCRIPTION
8,1 – 10	· Student clearly understand about the task · Student can give perfect argumentation in finishing the task · Student can organize the explanation sharply · Student can give accurate, complete and important information
6,6 – 8,0	· Student needs a little help to understand the task · Student can give good argumentation but still need a help · Student needs a help to organize the explanation · Student can give good information
5,6 – 6,5	· The student needs enough help to understand the task · Student can give argumentation if there is a help · Student needs a help to organize the explanation · There are many fault in giving information
4,1 – 5,5	· Student depends on teacher’s help to understand the task · Student need a help to give argumentation · Student always need a help to organize the explanation · The Information is lack and there are many fault
0 – 4,0	· Student can not understand the task · Student can not give argumentation in finishing the task · Student can not organize the explanation · The information is wrong and has no correlation with the task

2.6 Strength of Portfolio Assessment

Portfolio assessment can be used for many necessities. It records the students’ learning process. Berenson and Certer in Rusoni (2001) stated that there are some portfolio assessment’s strengths:

(1) To make document of the student’s progress for certain period of times;

Result of the students work are recorded in a list and documented in a bundle. It will be evidence of the students’ learning process in certain period of times.

(2) To know part of teaching learning process that needs to be repaired;

By using portfolio, teacher can analyze which material that should be explained again, which instruments that should be repaired, and et cetera.

(3) To inspire self confident and motivation in learning;

Students would be more motivated in learning if the students know the result of their work as a feedback.

(4) To give rise to responsible to learn.

It came to the students that process of learning is more important than a mere of good score.

While according to Gronlund in Rusoni (2001), the strengths of portfolio assessment are:

(1) Can know clearly the student’s learning progress;

Result of the students work are recorded in a list and documented in a bundle. It will be evidence of the students’ learning process in certain period of times. Teacher, students, and parents can know clearly the student’s learning progress.

(2) Give positive influence in learning by stressing to the best student work;

Teacher assesses the students systematically and continually. Teacher gives attention to the students’ work and turns the students to correct errors in their previous work. The best work will be chose as an example for another student.

(3) Make comparisons between the present work with the last work that will give more motivation rather than make comparisons with peers’ work;

Students will be more motivated when they compare their own present work with the past work. Students can find that their effort in learning is really useful, and they can see it from their portfolio.

(4) Can develop the skill to give own assessment;

Sometimes teacher asks the students to make self-assessment. Teacher turns the students to see their ability in learning.

(5) Give opportunity to the students to work according to individual differences (i.e., the students write according to their level but still in the same goal);

Each student has their own ability. By using portfolio teacher gives opportunity to the students to work according to individual differences. Students can make creative work, like short story, poetry, comic, and et cetera, and collect it into portfolio or put it on “Majalah Dinding”.

(6) Become communication tool about the students’ learning progress for the students it self, parents, and the others.

Teacher can shows student’s portfolio to parents or another parties as an evidence of the student’s learning progress.

J kemp and D. Toperoff (1998) also give some ideas about it. They give some reasons why use portfolio assessment:

(1) Matches assessment to teaching

The products that are assessed are mainly products of class-work, and are not divorced from class activities like test items.

(2) Has clear goals

They are decided on at the beginning of instruction and are clear to teacher and students alike.

(3) Gives profile of learner abilities

Depth: It enables students to show quality work, which is done without pressure and time constraints and with the help of resources, reference materials, and collaboration with others.

Breadth: A wide range of skills can be demonstrated.

Growth: It shows efforts to improve and develop, and demonstrates progress over time.

(4) Is a tool for assessing a variety of skills

Written as well as oral and graphic products can easily be included.

(5) Develops awareness of own learning

Students have to reflect on their own progress and the quality of their work in relation to known goals.

(6) Caters to individuals in the heterogeneous class

Since it open-ended, students can show work on their own level. Since there is choice, it caters to different learning styles and allows expression of different strengths.

(7) Develops social skills

Students are also assessed on work done together, in pairs or groups, on project and assignments.

(8) Develops independent and active learners

Students must select and justify portfolio choices; monitor progress and set learning goals.

(9) Can improve motivation for learning and thus achievement

Empowerment of students to prove achievement has been found to be motivating.

(10) Is an efficient tool for demonstrating learning

Different kinds of products and records of progress fit conveniently into one package.

(11) Provides opportunity for student-teacher dialogue

Teacher can find the student’s problem in learning by the portfolio. To solve the problem teacher can dialogue with the student.

Brown (2004:257) gives a number of potential benefits of portfolio:

(1) Foster intrinsic motivation, responsibility, and ownership;

Using assessment portfolios that include English language learners not only provides improved information about student achievement but also makes a positive impact on teaching and student learning. The use of portfolio encourages students to take more motivation and responsibility for their own learning.

(2) Promote student-teacher interaction with the teacher as facilitator;

Portfolio is one of facilitation in learning. Feedback from teacher that presents on portfolio will be a motivation for students to give new responses.

(3) Celebrate the uniqueness of each students;

(4) Provide tangible evidence of a student’s work;

(5) Facilitate critical thinking, self-assessment, and revision processes;

Sometimes teacher asks the students to make self-assessment. Teacher turns the students to see their ability in learning. Teacher also turns the students to be careful in doing the work. Teacher asks the students to correct the errors in their work and then make the revision.

(6) Offer opportunities for collaborative work with peers; and

Students are also assessed on work done together, in pairs or groups, on project and assignments.

(7) Permit assessment of multiple dimensions of language learning.

Written as well as oral and graphic products can easily be included.

2.7 Weakness of Portfolio Assessment

Although there are some Strength of portfolio assessment have been extolled in a number of sources, but it also has weakness, they are:

(1) Students need more time in doing the work;

Teacher gives many kinds of task in order the students become more creative in using English in real life. Besides, students should correct the errors in their work and make revision of the work.

(2) Teacher needs more time in completing portfolio of the students;

In portfolio assessment process, students’ work should be given feedback as a motivation for the students. So, teacher needs more time to check over the students’ work and give feedback to each work. Teacher also should assess students’ attitude in class.

(3) School’ parties need more cost to give portfolio to each student.

To record the student’s work needs kind of folder for each student.

Portfolios can fail if objectives are not clear, if guidelines are not given to students, or if systematic periodic review and feedback are not present.

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design

This research is conducted in Ex Post Facto design. According to Furchan (1982:50), ex post facto is a systematic empiric research where the researcher can’t set up the independent variable directly because it happened, or because of the independent variable can’t be manipulated.

Researcher does an observation without any manipulation; just choose the class that still uses traditional assessment and the class that uses portfolio assessment. The observation progresses at SMP 4 Jambi.

The design of this research can be seen at the table bellow:

Table 3.1 Ex Post Facto Design

Group	Independent Variable	Dependent Variable
1^st 2^nd	(X) -	Y₁ Y₂

Source: Furchan (1982:404)

Explanation:

(X) : The using of portfolio assessment that have been run;

Y1 and Y2 : The students’ learning achievement

3.2 Subject of the Research

3.2.1 Population

According to Arikunto (2002:108), population is all of the subjects who are connected to the research. Gay (1987:102) gives clearer definition of population that is the group of interest to the researcher, the group to which she or he would like the results of the study to be generalizable. Population at this research is the 1^st class of students of SMP 4 Jambi.

3.2.2 Sample

Sample is a number of individuals for a study in such a way that the individuals represent the larger group from which they were selected (Arikunto, 2002:109). In this research, the sample is selecting by using clustered random sampling.

The steps to select the sample are arranged as bellow:

(1) Choose the class which use portfolio assessment as the first group.

Class 1A is the only one class that uses portfolio assessment. Researcher decides Class 1A as the first group.

(2) Choose other classes, which still use traditional assessment. To step up the credibility of ex post facto design should be used criteria to choose the sample (in Furchan, 1982:393) as the following:

a. Have the same English teacher with the first group;

b. Given the same material with the first group;

c. Given the same process of learning except the process of assessment;

d. Find that the classes are normally distributed, have homogeny variances, and have the same class average of English ability.

(To get this data, researcher asked the document of first English daily test score to the teacher then found mean and standard deviation of each class).

(3) The last step is choosing one class that uses traditional assessment by using roll of papers randomly.

3.2.2.1 Normality Test

To find the normal distribution of the classes, researcher uses Lilliefors Test. According to Sudjana (in Syafyendri’s thesis, 2002: 30), normality test is done to find whether the subject is normally distributed or not. The steps are arranged as bellow:

a. Arrange the score of summative test in a table by ordering the score from lower score to higher score;

b. Find standard scores from by using formula:

Explanation: = mean

s = standard deviation

c. By using list of standard normal distribution, find the chance F (Zi) = P (Zi), {F(Zi) = score of Zi that is finding in F table for z distribution subtract (-) with 0.5};

d. Find the proportion score of standard scores which is less then or the same with score Zi. It is denoted by S(_Zi), S(_Zi) = sum of Xi divide with n;

e. Calculate margin of F(_Zi) – S(_Zi), then decide the absolute score;

f. Choose the highest absolute score, which is denoted by Lo. If Lo < Ltable so the average score of students’ learning achievement is normally distributed.

3.2.2.2 Homogeneity Test

To find the homogeneity of the variances of each class, researcher uses Bartlett Test because the populations are more than two classes (in Elina’s Thesis, 2005:27). The steps are arranged as follow:

a. Calculate the values needed in Bartlett test as listed in table 3.3 bellow:

Table 3.3 List of Bartlett Test

Subject	Df	1/df	Si²	Log Si²	(df) Log Si²
1 2 k	n₁ – 1 n₂ – 1 n_k – 1	1/ n₁ – 1 1/ n₂ – 1 1/ n_k – 1	S₁² S₂² S_k²	Log S₁² Log S₂² Log S_k²	(n₁ – 1) Log S₁² (n₂ – 1) Log S₂² (n_k – 1) Log S_k²

b. Find total variance of all subject

c. Find value of B by using formula:

B = (Log S²) ∑ (n_i-1)

d. Bartlett test by using Chi-Square statistic

c² = (Ln 10) (B – ∑{(n_i-1)Log S_i²})

It requires significance level (a) at the 0.05 level. If c_ratio² < c_table² so the result is: all of population variance is homogeny.

3.2.2.3 Analysis of Variance

According to Sudjana (in Elina’s thesis, 2005:29) to test that there is no difference of English ability among the populations is used analysis of Variance in one way classification. The steps are:

a. Calculate the mean of squares

b. Calculate a between-group sum of square

c. Calculate the sum of squares from all of groups

∑ X² = X₁² + X₂² + X₃²

d. Calculate a within-group sum of square

Dy = ∑ X² – Ry – Ay

e. Make a table of analysis of variance (ANOVA)

Table 3.4 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

Source of Variance	Df	Jk	KT	F
Means Between Groups Within Groups	1 k – 1 ∑ (n_i – 1)	Ry Ay Dy	R = Ry/1 A = Ay/(k-1) D = Dy/∑(n_i-1)	A/D
Total	∑n_i	-	-	-

f. The criterion to make a decision is through the following statement:

If F_ratio < F_table with df for numerator k -1 and df for denominator ∑ (n_i – 1) for significance at the level 0.05 (a), it means that the English ability of the populations is not different.

3.3 Data Collection Method

3.3.1 Kind of the Data

The data in this research are from observation and documentation. The documentation involve the data about number of the students, English score at first daily test to know the average ability, and the score of final test to find the difference of students’ learning achievement between the two classes.

3.3.2 Source of the Data

Sources of the data in this research are:

1) TU (Tata Usaha) of SMP 4 Jambi, to get the data about numbers of the students of 1^st class at SMP 4 Jambi in 2007/2008 academic years.

2) English teacher of 1^st class at SMP 4 Jambi, to get document of the first English daily test (formative test) score at first semester in 2007/2008 academic years. Formative test was teacher made test.

3) English teacher of 1^st class at SMP 4 Jambi, to get document of the final test (summative test) score at first semester in 2007/2008 academic years. Final test was teacher made test.

4) Observation of 1^st class at SMP 4 Jambi, to know how teaching and learning process held, to find the differences of assessment process at the two classes.

a) The Class with Portfolio Assessment

The first step, teacher gave information to the students about the using of portfolio that would be conduct in this semester, then explained what portfolio assessment is. Each student was given peaces of paper, which contained the indicators of portfolio assessment. Those papers are put in a folder. Before teacher gave material, teacher did warming up by asking the students everything that was related to the material and then explained teaching learning goals to the students.

The second step, teacher explained the material. Then teacher gave some exercises to the students. While the students did the exercises, teacher assessed the students’ attitude. After students were finished, teacher and students discussed the exercises together.

The last step, teacher concluded the material and then gave a homework for the next meeting.

In the next meeting, teacher collected the homework and corrected it at home. It was returned to the students at the next meeting. Students, who did errors in their work, must make a revision. Score of the work were recorded on format of structured task in portfolio. All of students’ works were recorded in a folder, so both teacher and students could see the difference in finishing previous work and the revision.

b) The Class with Traditional Assessment

The first, teacher did warming up by asking the students everything that was related to the material and then explained teaching learning goals to the students.

Next, teacher explained the material. Then teacher gave some exercises to the students. After students were finished, teacher and students discussed the exercises together.

The last, teacher concluded the material and then gave a homework for the next meeting. Teacher did not ask the students to make revision of their works.

3.4 Technique of Data Analysis

In this research, researcher would conduct the data analysis through the following steps:

a. Doing tabulation to the first English daily test (formative test) score at first semester in 2007/2008 academic years.

b. Classifying the sample based on the result of the tabulation.

c. Analyzing the final test score. Goal of data analyze is to find whether there is a difference of the students’ learning achievement between the two class, by using t-test. According to Faisal (in Yasril, 1998: 47), there are some conditions must be shared by the data before doing t-test: (1) they must be interval data; (2) they have normal distribution; and (3) they have the same variance.

d. Interpreting the data that have been analyzed.

3.5 Significance of the Difference between Two Means

According to Ardhana (in Yasril, 1998: 50), to test difference between two means is used t-test formula:

Explanation:

= mean of the first group

= mean of the second group

= estimate value of population variance

= number of students at the first group

= number of students at the second group

In calculating S² (estimate value of population variance) is using formula:

The degrees of freedom is n₁ + n₂ – 2 at the level of significance (a) 0.05. It will be said that there is a significant difference between the two classes if t_ratio > t_table.

CHAPTER IV

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Findings

To decide the sample of the research, researcher tabulates the first English daily test score (formative test score) at first semester in 2007/2008 academic years (in Appendix 1) and finds that:

(1) Those classes are normally distributed. The calculation is in Appendix 2, 3, and 4. The result is showed at the table below:

Table 4.1 L₀ and L_table Values of First English Formative Test Score of 1^st Classes at First Semester at SMP 4 Jambi 2007/2008 Academic

Years

Class	L₀	L_table
1 A 1 B 1 C	0.1145 0.1156 0.1013	0.1367 0.1321 0.1401

L₀ value is compared with L_table value, it shows that all of classes have L₀ < L_table, it means that the population are normally distributed.

(2) Those classes are homogeny. From the calculation (Appendix 5), is gotten c_ratio² = 0.4969 while c_table² = 2.92 for significance (a) at the 0.05 level. So, c_ratio² < c_table² which means that all of the population have the homogeny variance at 95% belief level.

(3) Those classes have the same ability for English subject. From the calculation (Appendix 6) is gotten F_ratio = 0.000002627, F_table = 3.0708 with a = 0.05. So, F_ratio < F_table, it means that the English ability of the populations is not difference.

After calculating the normality, homogeneity, and analysis of variance, is found that class 1A, class 1B, and class 1C can be chosen as the subject of the research because they are normally distributed, homogeny, and have the same English ability.

Then the samples are chosen by using roll of papers. After lottery the roll of papers is gotten class 1A as the first group with portfolio assessment and class 1B as the second group with traditional assessment.

From the observation for a semester that started on 30^th of August 2007 until 30^th of December 2007, it could be found that class 1A and class 1B have the same teacher. The teacher gave the same material and the same process of learning except the process of assessment. Teacher used portfolio assessment during teaching and learning process for class 1A and used traditional assessment during teaching and learning process for class 1B.

To find how learning achievement in class with portfolio assessment and traditional assessment is and how the difference between those classes is, researcher analyzed the documentation of final test scores. The final test score can be seen at Appendix 7.

From the study, researcher get the mean ( X ) and standard deviation (s) of final test score both of the class with traditional assessment and the class with portfolio assessment. The mean and standard deviation of the score can be seen at the Table 4.2.

Table 4.2 Average and Standard Deviation of Final Test Score of The Class With Traditional Assessment and Class With Portfolio Assessment

	Class 1A With Portfolio Assessment	Class 1B With Traditional Assessment
N Σ x Σ x² X s s²	42 2953 220109 70.3095 17.4503 304.5117	45 2700 173970 60 16.4938 272.0455

Explanation:

N = the number of the students

Σ x = the sum of the score

Σ x² = the sum of the score’s square

X = mean

s = standard deviation

s² = standard deviation’s square

It can be seen that there is difference between students’ learning achievement with portfolio assessment and traditional assessment. Mean of the students’ achievement with portfolio assessment is higher than mean of the students’ achievement with traditional assessment.

Final Test Score of Class 1A with Portfolio Assessment and Class 1B with Traditional Assessment is represented in Appendix. Researcher finds that in Class 1A there are 13 students (30.95 %) get scores below 5.9 (unsatisfactory score), 14 students (33.33 %) get scores in range 6.0 – 7.9 (adequate score), and 15 students (35,72 %) get scores in range 8.0 – 100 (good score). While in Class 1B there are 21 students (46.67 %) get scores below 5.9 (unsatisfactory score), 17 students (37.78 %) get scores in range 6.0 – 7.9 (adequate score), and 7 students (15.55 %) get scores in range 8.0 – 100 (good score).

From the percentages of the score of each class, the scores of Class 1A is in balance, but the scores of Class 1B is still low because almost 50% of the students in Class 1B get unsatisfactory scores.

To analyze how the difference between them is, whether there is a significant difference or not, researcher using t-test method. The calculating of t-test is in Appendix 8.

4.2 Discussion

The differences of student’s learning achievement between the class with portfolio assessment and the class with traditional assessment are caused by the difference of assessment process at those classes. At class with traditional assessment, teacher and students do not make documentation of student’s score and do not record the student’s work. While, at class with portfolio assessment, teacher and students always make documentation of student’s score and record the student’s work, so both teacher and students know the student’s learning progress time to time.

Portfolio is usable for teacher, students, and parent. Teacher can use portfolio to analyze which material that should be explained again and which instruments that should be repaired. Teacher can send portfolio to parents to show the students’ learning progress, so parents know how to help the students to learn at home. Besides, portfolio is very important for student it self. Students can see their score time to time. Students can find feedback of their effort in learning. Dimyati and Mudjiono (2002:48) stated that students would be more motivated in learning if the students know the result of their work as a feedback.

Besides, at the class with traditional assessment teacher never asks the students to make revision of their work. Students never do self or peer-assessment so they do not realize what their weakness in learning English is. While at the class with portfolio, teacher asks the students to make revision of their work, so the students are accustomed to make a best work. Because of the students’ work are documented, the students can see their work time to time, so they know what their weakness is, and it will motivates them to study hard and better. Self and peer-assessment in portfolio assessment process also give important role in motivating the students, because this is one of a good way to convince them about what they can do or what they cannot do in learning English. Then, it will be a tool for teacher and parents to help the students in learning English when the students meet a difficulty.

At class with portfolio, students were asked to make creativity and join in some positive activities. It will have certain score. After check-out the students work, teacher ask the students at class with portfolio assessment to make revision of their work and put the revision work on “Majalah Dinding”.

Teacher also asks the students at class with portfolio assessment to do self and peer-assessment. The result of self and peer-assessment shows what they can do and what they cannot do in learning English. From this kind of assessment teacher can know what the students’ difficulty is.

These findings are in lines with the opinion from Gronlund (in Rusoni, 2001) that portfolio have some advantages.

Based on the explanation above, researcher come to the conclusion that the students at class with portfolio will be prompted to have intrinsic motivation to learn English hard and better because they get enough feedback from the works that are documented in a file, so their learning achievement are better than the students’ learning achievement at class with traditional assessment.

Although there are some strength of portfolio assessment have been extolled in a number of sources, but it also has weakness, they are:

(4) Students need more time in doing the work;

Teacher gives many kinds of task in order the students become more creative in using English in real life. Besides, students should correct the errors in their work and make revision of the work. It needs more time consuming for the students to do all the work.

(5) Teacher needs more time in completing portfolio of the students;

In portfolio assessment process, students’ work should be given feedback as a motivation for the students. Therefore, teacher needs more time to check over the students’ work and give feedback to each work. Teacher also should assess students’ attitude in class. What should be done by the teacher is out of proportion to the number of the students in class and the salary of the teacher.

(6) School’ parties need more cost to give portfolio to each student.

To record the student’s work needs a kind of folder for each student.

Portfolios can fail if objectives are not clear, if guidelines are not given to students, or if systematic periodic review and feedback are not present.

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

5.1 Conclusions

Researcher finds that in Class 1A there are 30.95 % get scores below 5.9 (unsatisfactory score), 33.33 % get scores in range 6.0 – 7.9 (adequate score), and 35,72 % get scores in range 8.0 – 100 (good score). While in Class 1B there are 46.67 % get scores below 5.9 (unsatisfactory score), 37.78 % get scores in range 6.0 – 7.9 (adequate score), and 15.55 % get scores in range 8.0–100 (good score).

After analyzing the data by using t-test at the level of significance (a) 0.05, is got t_ratio is bigger than t_table, that is t_ratio = 2.833 > t_table = 1.992, it shows that there is a significant difference between the students’ learning achievement with traditional assessment and portfolio assessment. It can be seen from means of the two classes, mean of the class with portfolio assessment is 70.31 and mean of the class with traditional assessment is 60.00.

It can be concluded that the student learning achievement with portfolio assessment is better than the student learning achievement with traditional assessment at the level of believe 95%.

5.2 Suggestions

This research describes the student’s learning achievement with traditional assessment and portfolio assessment. Based on the result of this research, researcher has the recommendation as follows:

1. In using portfolio assessment, teacher should have well preparation for the materials, assignments, and another activity, which is appropriate with the time allocation.

2. Portfolio assessment is better implemented in small class because teacher will be easier in managing the class.

3. Government should take a close look at teacher’s salary because this is out of proportion to teacher’s duty in complementing portfolio assessment.

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