School learning environments play important roles in students' lives. But when do these relationships form? Previous research on middle school students has identified a strong association between student socio-demographics, school characteristics, and achievement. Yet, few studies have investigated the origins of these associations. This study investigated whether associations exist in a large sample of much younger 4th and 5th grade students, typically ages 9 through 11, from a Midwest urban school district. Results show socio-demographic differences in perception, in particular race, sex, and economic status, are less pronounced at earlier ages; indicating socio-demographic associations tend to emerge in middle and high school. Special education is a notable exception. Younger students' perceptions of the learning environment are associated with achievement at this age shedding light on the origin of the links between socio-demographics and perceptions of learning environments.