Existing evidence suggests that high stakes exams result in little increased learning among students (Amrein & Berliner, 2002; Klein, Hamilton, McCaffrey, & Stetcher, 2000; Koretz, Mitchell, & Stetcher, 1996). Yet, given the federal mandates for greater accountability, such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation and Race to the Top policies, and the “pervasive testing culture” (Moses & Nanna, 2007, p. 55), the use of high-stakes tests is presently an accepted practice. The importance ascribed to standardized tests within public education has significant impact on pedagogical practices. The majority of teachers surveyed in two large school districts reported placing “greater emphasis on basic skills” and spending at least two weeks on practice tests and “test-taking strategies,” with 68% reporting that they engaged students in “test preparation activities” a regular basis throughout the school year (Shepard & Dougherty, 1991, p. 14). A nationwide survey of teachers documented that across the country large amounts of classroom time is devoted to test preparation activities (Abrams, Pedulla, & Madaus, 2003, p. 18). Observations in two elementary schools indicate that in some school settings over 100 hours of instruction time is spent on test preparation and test administration (Smith, Edelsky, Draper, Rottenberg, & Cherland, 1990). The shift in curricular focus towards test preparation has negative implications. Interviews with 59 teachers in two states suggest that when more time is spent on test preparation teacher discontinue instructional activities that (a) are pleasant for the teacher and the children; (b) provide reinforcement of skills and promote in-depth understandings of content; (c) involve collaboration, independence, and higher order thinking skills; and (d) have goals that are not measured by tests (such as the development of attitudes) (Barksdale-Ladd & Thomas, 2000, p. 391). These findings are supported by a qualitative metasynthesis of 49 studies examining the impact of high-stakes testing on the curriculum which finds substantial evidence of curricular narrowing to the subject matter on tests, and an increase in “the use teacher-centered pedagogies” (Au, 2007, p. 258). In sum, high-stakes testing has altered instruction such that in many classrooms more time is spent on test preparation at the expense of engaging and varied learning activities. In this article, I document the effect of high-stakes test preparation on middle school students’ boredom. Presented and discussed herein are the findings of an ethnographic study that followed a group of 30 urban, Latina/o, middle school students over the course of their middle school experience and documented, among other things, the ground-level impact the push toward ‘greater accountability’ in public education had on the students. The analysis of the data is based on the understanding that the phenomenon of boredom is associated with schooling (Anderson & Ridley, 1978; Beaulieu, 1981; Corrigan, 1979; Dow, 2007; Fallis & Opotow, 2003; Farrell, Peguero, Lindsey, & White, 1988; Fogelman, 1976; Healy, 1984; Heron, 2003; Keiler, 2011; Larson & Richards, 1991; McGiboney & Carter 1988; Nelson, 1985; Robinson 1975; Rubin, 2007; Wasson 1981; Willis, 1977). While many studies document that boredom is regularly experienced by students, there is a need for investigations that focus on the interplay between classroom dynamics and curriculum that give rise to boredom (Belton & Priyadharshini, 2007; Doherty, 2002). Consequently, the findings discussed herein have the potential to contribute to the scholarship on schooling, curriculum, pedagogy, and boredom. To be clear, the present article does not account for students’ internal motivation or disposition. Rather, the present article focuses on the extent to which students were stimulated by their classroom curriculum and pedagogy. Examination of external influences accounts for the students’ emic perspectives of boredom at school and points to the importance of curricular approached that provide students with engaging, learning opportunities.