Effect of Portfolio Assessment on Fostering Iranian EFL Students` Empowerment: University Entrance Exam in Focus

Passing University Entrance Exams (UEE) successfully has long been the main anxiety for Iranian high school students. The reason for this mixed-methods ponder was to look at how freshman TEFL students experienced portfolio assessment for fostering their empowerment and also how assessment (dis)empowerment manifests itself in the English section of university Entrance Exams. The members were 100 freshmen university TEFL students who were helpfully and deliberately chosen from Shiraz, Tehran, and Isfahan universities. Not only a valid questionnaire but also group interviews were used to gather the required information. To analyze and portray the data, the researchers used descriptive statistical methods. The findings revealed TEFL pupils regarded the portfolio program as valuable for fostering their empowerment. Moreover, the TEFL students had an agreement about the disempowerment of the English section of the University Entrance Exam. Besides, the result underscored the need for more executive modes of evaluation consisting of using portfolios in UEE. Regarding the results, there are valuable suggestions for policymakers as well as constructors of the high-stake test.