Students' perceptions of assessment activities are the focus of this research. An instrument, Perceptions of Assessment of Teachers by Students, was developed in a primary version (kindergarten through grade 3) with a pictorial scale and a senior version (grades 4 through 12) with a 5-point Likert scale. Fifteen teachers returned the student inventories for 115 children in the primary group and 174 in the senior group (a 43% response rate). In this pilot study, the psychometric qualities of both versions appeared sound. There were discernible differences in grade levels in how students perceive their grades. Overall, students' sense of fairness and their perceived control over their own grades correlated significantly with teachers' self-reported perceptions of competence in assessment. However, analyses suggest that teachers are not asking students about what should be included in the grading process, and they indicate the importance of student perceptions of fairness. To make grading accurate, meaningful, and fair, putting the child into the teaching-testing-grading cycle is critical to understanding the validity of the assessment process. (Contains 1 figure, 4 tables, and 22 references.) (SLD)