Life continues to change for minority children in general and African American children in particular in public schools where federal legislation mandates extensive high-stakes testing. Although high-stakes testing is a prominent element of public schooling in the United States, it has generated serious concerns from one of its primary clientele--the students. Drawing on interviews with students, this study presents and account of six African American students' perceptions of high-stakes testing (HST) in a large inner-city high school in Central Ohio with a high African American student population. Specifically, the study addresses the following questions: (a) How are students prepared for the mathematics portion of a high-stakes test? and (b) What do students suggest to improve the process? Consequently, students believe instruction and instructional content have changed with the teacher emphasizing materials on the test while narrowing other aspects of learning.