Twenty primary grade teachers of inner-city, lower class, Afro-American students and 20 primary grade teachers of suburban middle class white students were interviewed using George A. Kelly's 'Rep Test' technique, in order to elicit the categories or constructs through which they customarily perceived their students. Two judges applied content analysis to transcripts of interviews, extracting the cognitive constructs generated by teachers themselves in perceiving their students. Results showed that 39 constructs were mentioned by at least 80 percent of city or 80 percent of suburban teachers. Teachers applied these constructs to their students in highly evaluative ways, creating perceived rank orders among students in their classrooms with respect to academic compentence, character, personality characteristics, appearance, interpersonal relations, and family background. The most significant outcome of the research was the similarity found between city and suburban teachers, in the constructs through which students were perceived. The content of the perceptual categories used by all teachers reflected a traditional set of values. (Author/JM)