Some observations are offered about alternative assessment devices, performance assessments in particular. The act of conducting alternative assessment does not automatically ensure good assessment. Users must become knowledgeable consumers of published alternative assessment tools and developers of local and classroom assessments. Performance and other alternative assessments are a useful part of the assessment arsenal; they must be carefully integrated into large-scale assessments and the public must become educated consumers of the information offered by alternative assessment. Annotated bibliographies of 117 articles about alternative assessment gathered by the Test Center of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory are included in the following areas: (1) mathematics; (2) reading; and (3) portfolios. Charts summarize assessment instruments, anthologies, achievement tests in speaking and listening, and educational agencies interested in alternative assessment. Criteria for selecting and reviewing assessment tools in speaking and learning are also summarized in tabular form. (SLD)