The use of portfolio assessment by composition instructors in the Department of English at the University of Missouri-Kansas City is described. Based on a survey of instructors, conducted in the spring of 1994, the paper examines: (1) who determines what goes into the portfolio, (2) how students are assessed throughout the term, (3) features looked for when reviewing student papers, (4) frequency of student conferences, (5) grading techniques, (6) differences in teaching or in student responses due to use of portfolios, and (7) advantages and disadvantages of portfolio assessment. The teachers felt that students became less dependent on the teacher and more self-reliant about writing. Advantages included students not worrying about grades, teachers seeing improvements in students' work, students taking responsibility for their own work, and students applying what they have learned. Disadvantages included the paperload at the end of the semester, students not knowing how they are progressing during the semester, the chance that teachers may evade their responsibility to evaluate students' work throughout the term, and the worry teachers have that they may be accused of grade inflation. (JDD)