A case study examined how one elementary school teacher negotiated her response to VAP (Vermont Assessment Program), Vermont's requirement for a portfolio assessment. Two questions guided the study: (1) how does one fifth-grade teacher use portfolios in classroom writing assessment and instruction? and (2) to what extent do portfolios, as mandated by VAP, inform or influence a teacher's classroom instruction and assessment practices during the first year of implementation? The study spanned a 10-month period, from August 1994 to June 1995. Data consisted of a case book of observational material and documents surrounding these observations, along with extensive interviews. The teacher's initial response to VAP was first fear and then relief, as she determined it was "nothing new." A class writing period characterizes all those observed: they do not extend beyond 45 minutes; students are assigned topics; there is no peer conferencing; brief, positive feedback is given by the teacher; and all finished writing is carefully collected for the VAP portfolio. To prepare the five required VAP portfolios for submission to the state the teacher worked with chosen students individually; then, all the other students prepared their portfolios. The teacher now realizes these two processes should have been reversed. Results suggest that there were some significant changes in the classroom; for example, students wrote more often than before. (An appendix shows a typical writing period in the classroom.) (TB)