Students enter secondary classrooms armed with attributions for their own successes or failures, informed by experiences in and out of school, but it is unclear to what degree these attributions affect achievement. Additionally, while the influence teacher expectations can have on student achievement is well documented, students' perceptions of these expectations and their influence on achievement have not been thoroughly examined. At the center of this study is the issue of deficient student achievement. While attempts to resolve the problem of student underachievement have been approached from curricular and pedagogical vantage points, this study focused on the students' perspective, and sought to determine if there is a relationship between changes in test scores and 1) the attributions students make for success or failure, and 2) the students' perceptions of their teachers' expectations. Ninth grade students in English/Language Arts classes completed surveys with questions intended to measure variables relating to the students' perceptions of teachers' expectations and attributions, namely: ability, effort, luck, and context. Their 7th and 8th grade standardized test scores were regressed against the variables, and correlations among the variables were also examined. The data indicated that while students do perceive their teachers' expectations of their achievement and attach importance to them, these perceptions are not significantly associated with changes in test scores. However, significant associations were found between changes in test scores and items associated with students' attributions for ability. This was also evident when the sample was examined by gender, though the ability items varied. Students' perceptions of teachers' expectations was positively correlated with attributions for ability and effort. Additionally, effort and luck attributions were negatively correlated with each other. The results of this study can be used to inform pre-service teacher training in the importance of student attributions and awareness of teachers' expectations. Furthermore, teachers may reconsider the common practice of examining student data before they meet students. Finally, these results can affect teachers' awareness of their influence on students' perceptions and attributions. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]