Educational Assessment is at the cornerstone of education in the 1990s. Advocates for alternative assessment believe that the new tasks should be redesigned to more closely resemble real learning tasks. Portfolio assessment encourages an integration between assessment and instruction and results in several positive educational outcomes. Portfolios represent students' learning in a variety of ways, including depth, breadth, and change over time. With portfolios, the assessment activities and classroom activities can occur throughout the school day. Portfolio assessment can provide educators with an assessment system that includes multiple measures taken over time to create a complete picture of student achievement. The paper describes a portfolio assessment program at a Maryland elementary school, including requirements for implementation, staff training, involvement and support of parents, stages of portfolio assessment use, home-school connections, and a celebration of the year-long commitment to using portfolio assessment. The program placed particular emphasis on parent participation at early morning coffees and afternoon teas, parental commitment to the program, and parental involvement and training in the portfolio assessment process. Appendices include a listing of reference sources, a sample primary portfolio, portfolio conference sheet, student presentation form, partner reflection form, and parent or guardian portfolio feedback form. (Author/SD)