The Impact of Portfolio Assessment on the Moroccan Police Cadets’ EFL Writing Skills

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine whether or not the integration of portfolio as part of the assessment practices in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) context can significantly impact the improvement of the Moroccan police cadets’ EFL writing skills. The study participants were 50 Moroccan Police Cadets who have been studying English for Policing at the Moroccan Defense Language Institute for one year. They were randomly selected and divided into experimental and control groups. Each group consists of 25 students. A pre-test was administered to both groups to check their writing proficiency level. The experimental group students were treated, throughout the semester, using portfolio-based assessment techniques like (self-and peer-assessment, teacher’s feedback, student-teacher conferences…etc.) to evaluate their writing skill, whereas the control group ones were tested using the traditional summative writing achievement tests. Eventually, a paired sample t-test was conducted to determine the significant differences between the two groups after the treatment. The findings showed that the experimental group students, who were exposed to portfolio-based writing assessment, outperformed their control group counterparts. Finally, the researchers concluded that the use of portfolio assessment in an ESP classroom positively affects the Moroccan Police Cadets’ writing skills.