On a daily basis, teachers of English language arts (ELA) present information, engage students in activities, develop assignments, and grade papers. Students complete assigned tasks, answer questions, and write essays. Written products are then collected, evaluated, and returned to the students. The combined work of teachers and students--the documented totality of the processes and products--is a plentiful source of information about the habits and dispositions of "teachers" as well as individual "students". This totality of processes and products is an essential ingredient in the task of program evaluation. Collecting all relevant student work is the vital first step in the program evaluation/student self-assessment process. The simplest and most effective collection device is the ELA student portfolio. Maintaining a working portfolio enables students to review their work over time and reflect on the processes they use in creating language arts products. These portfolios, then, are the basis for program evaluation (conducted by the teacher) and self-assessment (conducted by the students). In this article, the author describes how a basic working portfolio in the ELA classroom can be used in two ways: (1) to help teachers develop a keener understanding of their own program; and (2) to assist students in the self-assessment process.