Although most teachers believe that "students should write at least one in-depth paper during high school," the independent research paper is disappearing from high school curricula in the face of two competing pressures: the need to prepare for high-stakes tests and student "senioritis." In many high schools, the senior year has become "a blow-off time," and too many students leave high school without knowledge of how to conduct research or write an in-depth analytical paper. This article presents the results of a study that investigated the benefits that students perceive in conducting an independent history research project in their senior year of high school. The study asked: What do students conducting historical research and analysis say they learn from working on these projects? One purpose of this research is to determine whether students recognize a unique benefit associated with the independent research above and beyond the benefits they perceive from an otherwise rigorous curriculum. (Contains 1 table and 12 notes.)