The state of the art in using student portfolios in the schools is summarized, based on an annotated bibliography of over 50 articles produced by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NREL). This set of materials is an addendum to a previously developed workshop series designed to assist educators in developing their own curriculum-referenced tests. Although there are some disagreements about what a portfolio should be, the NREL has concluded that a portfolio must be a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits a student's progress in a given area or areas while including: (1) student participation in selection of the portfolio content; (2) the criteria for selection; (3) the criteria for judging merit; and (4) evidence of student self-reflection. Examples were derived from the areas of writing and integrated language arts, where most of the work with portfolios has been. Issues in using portfolios are discussed, with emphasis on: purposes, curriculum and instruction, content, assessment, management and logistics, and staff development. Appendix 1 gives examples of four students' written self-reflections. Appendix 2 is a 68-item annotated bibliography of portfolio articles that were prepared by the NREL. (SLD)