This paper provides an extensive literature review and recommendations for authentic assessment, and then provides recommendations for administrators in order to implement authentic assessment in elementary schools. A lack of comfort, with the way in which standardized tests seems to dictate what teachers teach as part of the curriculum, was a contributing factor to interest in authentic assessment that requires and enhances problem-solving skills. To promote a more complex picture of students, schools need to advocate authentic assessment by becoming familiar with the principles of sound assessment. Assessment should be used as a teacher's tool, a means to determine student outcomes and a plan for instruction. Staff development and parent and community support are essential for the implementation of authentic assessment. Some discussions with educators who are using authentic assessment emphasize these points. The key to the development of changes toward authentic assessment is collaborative decision making. (Contains 47 references and an additional bibliography of 10 sources.) (SLD)