This study compared the perceptions of teachers and their students about the frequency with which the teachers used motivational strategies that supported mastery goals with both high- and low-performing students. A sample of 47 middle school teachers and their students (314 high-performing and 243 low-performing) completed teacher and student versions of the Motivational Strategy Use Questionnaire. The 27-item questionnaire measured the extent to which teachers' reports of the frequency with which they used adaptive motivational strategies agreed with the perceptions of their high- and low-performing students within the same classroom. Data analysis indicated that teachers reported using adaptive motivational strategies more frequently with high-performing students. Teachers and students differed significantly in their perceptions of the frequency with which teachers used adaptive motivational strategies. Both high- and low-achieving students reported low frequencies of teachers using motivational strategies that would support a mastery goal. Younger students tended to see their classrooms as more mastery focused than did older students. (Contains 22 references). (Author/SM)