Portfolios used for assessment purposes are most commonly characterized by collections of candidates' work that exhibit to the faculty and the candidate the candidate's progress and achievement in given areas. Included in the portfolio may be research papers and other process reports, multiple choice or essay examinations, self-evaluations, personal essays, journals, computational exercises and problems, case studies, audiotapes, videotapes, and short-answer quizzes. This information may be gathered from in-class or as out-of-class assignments.

Information about the candidates' skills, knowledge, and development, quality of writing, and critical thinking can be acquired through a comprehensive collection of work samples. A candidate's portfolio can be assembled within a course or in a sequence of courses in the major. These will determines what information or candidates' products should be collected and how these products will be used to evaluate or assess candidates' learning. These decisions are based on the academic unit's educational goals and objectives.

Portfolio evaluation is a useful assessment tool because it allows analysing an entire scope of candidate work in a timely fashion. A unique opportunity to assess a candidates' progress in acquiring a variety of learning objectives. Using candidate portfolios also gives the ability to determine the content and control the quality of the assessed materials. Portfolios at other research institutions are widely used and have been a part of candidate outcomes assessment for a long time.