Student Portfolio Blueprint
Time saved: 7 hours → 45 minutes per portfolio cycle API cost: ~$0.03-0.08 per run What it does: Creates curriculum-aligned PBL materials and assesses student portfolios with evidence-based grading
The Problem
Teachers spend hours creating curriculum-aligned materials for project-based learning. Then they spend more hours assessing the portfolios that come back. The work is repetitive, the standards alignment is tedious, and the grading is vulnerable to accusations of subjectivity.
The Blueprint
This system has two modes.
Creation Mode: Feed it a learning mission. It analyses the driving question, identifies curriculum standards, and generates 5-7 material suggestions ranked by the Artifact Hierarchy (Level 1 compliance work through Level 5 mastery evidence). Then it builds complete, classroom-ready materials with teacher notes, answer keys, and differentiation options.
Assessment Mode: Feed it a student portfolio. It runs a full Evidence Audit — inventories every artifact, classifies each one by level, runs the Trash Can Test (disposable vs. renewable work), checks for cognitive gaps, and generates a recommended grade with a defensibility statement you can hand to a parent or administrator.
What's Inside
- Complete Claude Skill file (SKILL.md) — 500 lines of documented framework
- System prompts for both creation and assessment modes
- The Artifact Hierarchy (Levels 1-5) with classification criteria
- The Trash Can Test protocol
- Cognitive Gap Assessment checklist
- Defensibility statement templates
- Parent/admin response scripts
- Example interactions showing both modes
- n8n workflow template (JSON) for API automation
The Framework
Artifact Hierarchy:
- Level 1: Seat Time / Compliance (exclude from grades)
- Level 2: Recall and Reproduction (count minimally)
- Level 3: Process and Analysis (weight moderately)
- Level 4: Authentic Intellectual Work (weight heavily)
- Level 5: Generative and Legacy (premium weighting)
Grading:
- 90%+ Level 3-5 with metacognition = A range
- 70-89% Level 3-5 = B range
- 50-69% Level 3-5 = C range
- Below 50% Level 3-5 = D/F range
Every grade comes with an evidence trail. No gut feelings.
Credits
- Activity vs. Learning Evidence Audit: Phillip Alcock, PBL Future Labs
- Learning Mission Framework: Dr. Thom Markham, Phillip Alcock
- Authentic Intellectual Work: Newmann, Marks & Gamoran