This paper, part of a larger case study of beginning teachers and mentors, describes the concerns of four teachers throughout their stages of development in first-year teaching. They and their mentors were interviewed at three intervals in the school year to obtain perceptions of beginning teacher concerns. Beginning teachers also kept journals of their concerns in first-year teaching. Data revealed that in an accountability-based testing environment, instructional pacing was reported as a top, pervasive concern of beginning teachers. These case studies reveal that participants were reporting beginning teacher concerns, but not necessarily in the predictable areas, such as classroom discipline, student motivation, or individual student differences. The data suggest that typical problems were overshadowed by concerns and preoccupations with district instructional pacing, test pressure, and test preparation. (Contains 2 figures and 2 tables.)