Beginning teachers are often given teaching assignments that would challenge even the most skillful veteran teachers. Such assignments can take several forms: teaching in a subject area for which the teacher is not certified; having too many class preparations; "floating" from classroom to classroom; working with low-ability, unmotivated, or disruptive students; or being responsible for demanding or time-consuming extracurricular activities. Although previous studies have raised important issues regarding first-year teachers floating, teaching outside of their area of expertise, and teaching too many different classes, most of the evidence they provide is anecdotal. This study seeks to quantify the extent to which these practices occur at the middle and high school levels. All first-year middle school and high school teachers in a K-12 school district were asked to participate in this study. Some of these teachers teach in schools with high-achieving, high socioeconomic populations, while others teach in schools comprised of at-risk populations. The school district has an overall student population of almost 60,000 and includes eleven middle schools and thirteen high schools. A ten-question survey was used to gather information. The research confirmed that the phenomena of floating, teaching out of area of expertise, and having too many preparations, often reported anecdotally in the literature, still occur for secondary first-year teachers in the district studied. The first year of teaching is arduous under the best of circumstances. The practices described in this study exacerbate an already difficult situation and must be eradicated. Further research that better informs administrators, combined with recent legislation, may lead to critical improvements that will benefit teachers as they begin their careers.