I think portfolio assessment is one of the most underused and valuable tools for assessment in education. Yes I agree that you must test students basic knowledge for various concepts and skills, but taking one test at one point in time does not measure the true ability of a student. Being a Special Education major, we talk about the use of portfolio assessment for students with disabilities. I think there is much more room for creativity when using portfolios and they can be valuable to assess the multiple and various skills that a student possesses; not just how well they can cram, memorize, and spew information back to you in question and answer form.
If you think about Bloom's taxonomy, the ability to create is one of the highest levels, falling in the synthesis category (2nd highest). What better way to assess what a student has learned than by asking them to create something. The biggest issue that I can see with portfolio assessment as a part of a graduation requirement is the ability to be consistent with evaluation techniques. There would need to be a very detailed and clear rubric created for the assessment along with strict guidelines that teachers/evaluation teams must adhere to.
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