[e]portfolios for learning and as evidence of achievement: Scoping the academic practice development agenda ahead

•Emphasising examinations for measuring achievement has narrowed the curriculum.•[e]portfolios support a personalised curriculum AND provide evidence of achievement.•[e]portfolios can involve authors doing more assessment, and teachers doing less.•Determining the worth of a [e]portfolio is an exercise in professional judgement.•Enhancing assessment literacy should strengthen [e]portfolio initiatives.

If we are successfully to harness [e]portfolios for both learning and as evidence of achievement, we need to understand the tensions that exist between these uses. In the light of a brief history of the nature and purpose of assessment in academia we consider [e]portfolios as a potentially attractive present day option that assists the integration of discipline-specific learning with important so-called generic capabilities, especially ‘learning to learn’. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on our past experiences working with portfolios for teaching development, and working in online legal education, to identify factors which will assist us to make valuable advances, in particular, in [e]portfolio-based legal education. Implications and strategies for success in any change initiative involving [e]portfolios are discussed.