The New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) runs an annual evaluation of students' musical performance. The purposes of the evaluation are to promote music programs in the schools and communities of New York State, and to provide a means of objective evaluation of musical performance. The evaluation is influential because the selections of participant for All-State, All-County, and other music festivals are mainly based upon NYSSMA scores. To familiarize the evaluation criteria and to prepare students to meet the requirements, New York State music teachers use the "NYSSMA Manual" as an important teaching guide. Aiming at future revisions, this article discusses the requirements in the Violin Solos section of the "NYSSMA Manual." Two types of sources are used for comparison purpose. One is traditional literature with emphasize on music theory and method books. The other is similar publication from other music organizations. From the author's point of view, some requirements could be simplified while others could be enhanced.