Abstract The intension with this paper was to describe the understanding students in third grade had about mathematics and how these students, based on their previous mathematics experiences, apprehend the coming national tests in mathematics. After the test period the student was interviewed on how they experienced their participation in the test. The choice of method was the qualitative case study where the data was collected from interviews and observations. In the result that was found, the interviewed students described mathematics as counting. Students preferred easy math work and to solve routine tasks in math books instead of more demanding work. The students could not see mathematics as something they needed or used in daily life but they thought that as an adult, they would most likely need to count. Students were uncertain of what the national test was and an anxious mood prevailed before the tests. After the tests, the students thought the tests had been much more difficult than they expected. The overall conclusion for this paper is the discrepancy between policy documents relating to the subject of mathematics and the students perception and that students have apparently a little knowledge of the national tests before the test period despite the fact that the teacher had explained what it was.