Using Mastery Portfolios For College Admissions

In Volume One of this series on “Going Gradeless,” I outlined the WHY behind our decision at Odyssey Leadership Academy to NEVER give a grade to any student, on any assignment…ever!

I also detailed the incredible success our students experience both in the learning environment and in our 100% college acceptance rate!

In Volume Two, I shared WHAT we use instead of a numerical GPA—a Narrative Transcript—to tell the story of the student’s academic growth and personal journey

In this final edition, I want to share the broader picture of HOW we use a Mastery Portfolio to showcase our students’ work, accomplishments, and achievements…and how you can do the same

Mastery Portfolios: A Digital Archive

What are Mastery Portfolios? They are a digital archive of a student’s work, projects, papers, transcript, presentations…essentially, everything that we believe helps colleges see how incredible our students are!

To begin, we create a Google Drive file for every student as a repository to hold items we want to share with colleges, including:

• Their narrative transcripts

• Pictures of them throughout their time at our school

• A sample thesis paper

• Our letters of recommendation on their behalf

• Videos of their presentations and/or Celebrations of Learning student showcase pieces

We then send that link to the respective student’s colleges in an email introducing the student.

What we find is that colleges appreciate the depth and breadth of information provided in these Mastery Portfolios, to the tune of a 100% college acceptance rate, with 97% receiving scholarship offers to their top schools of choice

These Mastery Portfolios have earned our students an average of $100,000 in scholarships apiece … equivalent to what most students get with a 32 ACT (and most of our students do not take the ACT or SAT).

What does a Mastery Portfolio Look Like?

Check out this sample Mastery Portfolio for one of our students

Our Mastery Portfolios are specifically geared to show off the full student, not just academically, but who they are as leaders, as community members, as creators, and as human beings that are far more than a mere number or GPA.

They allow colleges the chance to see the student “live” as a real flesh and blood person, not just a number on a piece of paper.

They give admission reps the opportunity to get to know the student more robustly than as a mere letter grade.

Here are just a few comments we have received at Odyssey Leadership Academy from college admissions reps working with our students during the admissions process:

"This school has a feel of college level thinking and course work.  They know how to research very well, they know how to write papers, they know how to cross over different subjects to discover real life solutions to real life problems.  In other words, their hard work and skills developed in high school will pay off immensely at the college level.  These students would fit well in our honors college because we are after more meaningful work and that is what I see the students of OLA are getting to experience." -- Wichita State University

"My visit to Odyssey Leadership Academy this past fall is one that stands out very distinctly in my memory. An authentic passion for learning and strong communication skills are the two elements I most actively look for in prospective students, and I found those in abundance at OLA. In all the classrooms I visited and student groups I met, learning, as well as sharing what they were learning with me, was an opportunity, not a task. It was clear to me that academic exploration is something students engage with actively at OLA, and that students are empowered to take on paths that excite them. Students like this, who can engage passionately with learning, instead of seeing it merely as a means to an end, are the kind of students that thrive at Hendrix." Assistant Director of Admissions, Hendrix College

As you can tell, colleges connect with our students because they get to know them far more than as numbers on a page; they get to know them as the incredible people they are!

Starting a Mastery Portfolio

If moving to a gradeless assessment system is something you are seriously contemplating, here are a few ideas on how to begin creating Mastery Portfolios for your students:

Create a Google Drive for Each Student: This is where you will store the body of work for each student. I do not suggest putting every paper or project in their portfolio, but you will want to choose whatever you feel showcases each student the best. Pick the best paper they’ve written, the best presentation, the best project…whatever you feel shows off the student at their highest level

Capture As Much As Possible: To ensure you have the best selection, take pictures and videos of everything live that you can, download or store in Google Drive their writings and papers, and capture the best work from each class that you can get. Yes, this takes more work on the teacher’s side, but, if your goal is to narrate the story on behalf of your students, it really is worth it

Invite Students to Curate the Portfolio: Ask students which art piece, what math proof, which paper they want in their portfolio. Ask them to create a resume for inclusion. Video them describing their favorite poem or showing off a science experiment. Give students plenty of voice and choice in how they tell their story to the world

Clarify the Concept: You may have to educate college admissions reps on why you are providing them with a digital portfolio along with (or, best case, instead of) the student’s transcript, but we have found almost overwhelmingly that colleges really appreciate the extra insight these portfolios provide

Hit SEND!

Once you have a well curated, robust digital portfolio, send it off to their respective college admission reps. We find almost to a fault that this is the secret to navigating the admissions process without a GPA. Giving colleges a rich look into the student as more than a number makes our students stand out against their peers who are sending in vanilla transcripts.

Hopefully, this has been helpful and has inspired you to take the first small steps towards a healthier, more holistic assessment practice

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If you still need advice on setting up Mastery Portfolios, feel free to reach out!

My work exists to help schools tell a better story for students, educators and the world. If I can help in any way—from workshops, consulting calls, professional development, keynotes, or year long cohorts—let me know!

Want direct, one-on-one help on how to go gradeless?

→Check out my website: From one-on-one dream sessions, to consulting with your team, to sharing at your site, I am passionate about helping you reimagine learning in your educational community.

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→ Grab a copy of The Edupreneur’s Field Guide. In this book, I bring to you all the wisdom, struggle, insight, hardships, challenges, obstacles, and opportunities I have learned from starting Odyssey Leadership Academy to help you tell a better story in education!