Browse help docs
Building a student portfolio
A portfolio that fills itself from real classwork, with a review step so what a learner adds is seen by a teacher before it counts as evidence.
For Teachers, students and families · reviewed 23 August 2026
The 1 points where someone must decide
Everything else can be worked on in any order. These cannot move without a person.
- Student submissionSubmitted by the learner → Reviewed by a teacher
Let classwork flow in
/teacher/portfolios
Mrs. Johnson
Teacher
Ayaan Reddy · portfolio
Filled from work that already exists
Water systems investigation
From the assessment submission
Migration stories essay
From the assessment submission
Field trip photographs
From the evidence store
One artefact can also support an ATL judgement and an accreditation practice.
Portfolio entries come from work that already exists — assessment submissions, reflections, project artefacts — rather than being uploaded a second time. One artefact in the evidence store can appear in a portfolio, support an ATL judgement and back an accreditation practice at once.
Have students add their own
/student/ib-portfolio · /teacher/student-submissions
Mrs. Johnson
Teacher
Student submissions
What learners added themselves
Model of the water cycle
Added by Ayaan · 21 Aug
Reading journal
Added by Navya · 20 Aug
Poster · recycling
Reviewed by R. Mehta
A light check, not a gate on the student's ownership.
Students can add work themselves, which is the part that makes a portfolio theirs rather than a folder kept about them. What they add arrives for review rather than appearing straight away.
Gate · Student submission
Submitted by the learner → Reviewed by a teacher
A teacher sees what a student added before it counts as evidence. This is a light check rather than a gate on the student's ownership — the work is still theirs, it simply enters the record with an adult having seen it.
Add reflection, not just artefacts
/teacher/growth · /student/ib-portfolio
Mrs. Johnson
Teacher
Reflection
Prompted at the end of a unit, not the term
Water systems · Ayaan
“I got the diagram wrong twice before…”
Migration stories · Ayaan
Not written
Artefacts show what was produced. Reflection shows the learning.
A portfolio of finished work shows what a student produced. Reflection is what shows the learning, and it is the part conferences and IB requirements actually rest on.
Reflections are prompted at the end of a unit rather than the end of a term, while the work is recent enough to remember.
Use it in a conference
/teacher/conferences · /teacher/portfolios
Mrs. Johnson
Teacher
Student-led conference
Works from the portfolio directly
Ayaan Reddy · 4 Sept, 16:20
Portfolio ready · 6 entries, 3 reflections
Navya Patel · 4 Sept, 16:40
2 entries, no reflections
Worth keeping current through the year rather than assembling beforehand.
A student-led conference works from the portfolio directly, which is why it is worth keeping current through the year rather than assembling beforehand. Families see their own child's portfolio and nobody else's.
Who can approve what
Designations are assigned in IB roles and are separate from the account role somebody signs in with.
| Designation | Sees | Approves |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher | Portfolios for their own students | Reviewing student submissions |
| Student | Their own portfolio | Adding work and reflections |
| Family | Their own child's portfolio | Nothing |
If something looks empty
Work a student added is not showing
It is waiting in the review queue. Reviewing is what admits it to the record.
The portfolio is all artefacts and no reflection
Reflection prompts sit at the end of a unit. If units are not being closed off, the prompt never comes.
A parent asks about another child's work in a shared project
They see their own child only. Group work shows their child's contribution.
Still stuck?
Bring the unit you are working on. Thirty minutes with someone who has taught the programme.