Gearhart and her colleagues (e.g., Gearhart, Herman, Baker, & Whittaker, 1993), though,
take issue with the claim of increased validity in portfolio assessment. Specifically, they ask the
question, “Whose work is it?” That is to say, true authorship of writing samples included in
portfolios can be expected to vary by degree across students depending on how much peer or
adult assistance was provided to each student for each writing assignment. If one student is given
more assistance than another to write a biographical account of Thomas Jefferson’s political
activities—most likely an unfamiliar genre and novel topic for most students—it may very well
be impossible to make reliable and valid judgments about the relative performance of the two
students. Likewise, if a student receives considerably greater support to write his biography
compared to that which he receives to write a poem commemorating the birth of his baby sister,
judgments about his writing quality may be unduly influenced by the amount of support he was
provided.