This study considered the problem of ineffective fieldwork experiences in the English Single Subject Credential Program at California State University, Long Beach prior to student teaching by combining structured fieldwork into a newly established state-mandated assessment, Teaching Performance Assessment Task 1 (TPA 1). This combination of a structured fieldwork component with TPA 1 was implemented in the last course, Curriculum and Methods of Teaching English (C&M), that pre-service teachers take prior to student teaching. Specifically, the study looked at how participants, who were now student teaching, perceived the value of this structured fieldwork infused into TPA 1 and how they articulate their skills and knowledge in the four focus areas. Perception and articulation were assessed during the student teaching semester through a series of interviews with eleven student teachers. These participants had all completed the C&M course with the TPA 1 structured fieldwork component and were student teachers the semester immediately following. This study, which compared three focus areas, (1) developmentally appropriate lesson plans (DALs); (2) Special Needs; and (3) English Language Learners (ELL), that included structured fieldwork and one (Assessment) that did not, found that structured fieldwork, made TPA 1 more relevant, and thus more effectively prepared students for student teaching. Not only were participants more prepared in these three areas, but they also felt more confident as they entered student teaching, what is often considered "a baptism by fire." TPA 1 provided the structure, but the fieldwork infused into this state-mandated assessment made it relevant in a way that students genuinely valued. (Contains 1 table.)