How students perceive standardized tests and routine classroom tests on subject matter units was studied by surveying 61 fifth-grade and 65 eighth-grade students in public schools in Michigan. It was hypothesized that older students would more often distinguish between the types of test and would be more cynical and less motivated than would younger students, and that high-achieving students would express more positive attitudes in both grades compared to lower achieving students. The standardized test was the California Achievement Test. A 56-item survey assessed student attitudes. Fifth-graders did not distinguish between the types of test as much as did eighth-graders. Younger students had more positive attitudes. The highly discriminated attitudes of the eighth-graders suggest developing disillusionment with standardized tests, a growing sense of their unimportance, and a suspicion of their validity. By grade 8, students did not incorporate standardized test results in their perceptions of their own ability. A 9-item list of references is included. Three tables present study data and survey questions. (SLD)