There are many assessment initiatives and policy changes happening in Illinois concerning learning and teaching expectations that involve K-12 students, teacher candidates, and current teachers. The Illinois State Board of Education has adopted new Math and English Language Arts standards for K-12 education known as the "New Illinois State Learning Standards Incorporating the Common Core." The goal is to better prepare Illinois students for success in college and the workforce in a competitive global economy. As a result of the Common Core State Standards initiative, music students are experiencing new activities in their ensembles and music classes that focus on expressing ideas through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This evolving model of Common Core implementation not only adds a new dimension of teaching for music educators, but also brings new expectations in assessing student achievement. For teacher-candidates, a new portfolio assessment is being piloted and implemented through all university programs. Illinois was one of six original states to pilot the Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA). The edTPA is a performance and knowledge assessment for preservice teachers that gathers and uses evidence of the qualities of teaching performance to improve teaching and teacher preparation. A common thread among initiatives in education in Illinois centers on thoughtfulness and authentic learning. Charlotte Danielson, in "Framework for Teaching," states that learning activities for students may be "hands on" but they should also always be "minds-on." Applying this concept to music teaching and learning requires music educators to incorporate activities beyond performing, as advocated by the National Standards in Music, as well as the last two reports of the Nation's Report Card: National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). By incorporating all three artistic processes-- creating, performing, and responding--a portfolio of student achievement in music can then be developed and assessed. In turn, this portfolio of music achievement can realistically address all three topics in this article--edTPA, Common Core Standards, and teacher evaluation based on the Danielson framework.