A kindergarten teacher used authentic assessment--assessments carried out during creative learning activities that document growth and support further learning--to evaluate the social and emotional growth of students. Prior to the implementation of authentic assessment, the teacher had not used any form of systematic observation, recording, or analysis of student behavior or skills in the area of social and emotional growth. Consequently, the teacher had to rely on generalized memories when completing each student's quarterly checklist and narrative report. Through the implementation of systematic observation and notetaking during the daily "choice time" in the kindergarten classroom, followed by analysis, the quarterly report card and other types of teacher-parent communication became not only more detailed and verifiable, but also more useful for the support and extension of each individual student's learning. The case of one student with social and emotional difficulties illustrates the effectiveness of the new assessment system. (Contains 29 references.) (MDM)