Overemphasis on high-stakes testing in mathematics, particularly in schools with economically disadvantaged students, has led to the formation of a culture of blame (Lau, 2009) and inconsistent instructional practices (Kitchen, Ridder, & Bolz, 2016). However, there are teachers who have been successful at ensuring deep mathematics learning takes place in spite of the demands of high-stakes testing instruction (Ladson-Billings, 2009; Leonard & Martin, 2013). The purpose of this study was to explore how high school mathematics teachers position themselves within the culture of blame that is manifested in the high-stakes testing environment. This qualitative holistic, multiple-case study was guided by the following research questions: In what ways do mathematics teachers position themselves within a culture of blame in ways that they can support student learning? The sub-questions that supported the overarching research question are: How do high school mathematics teachers position themselves within a culture of teacher blame and how does the culture of blame affect the creation and attainment of student learning goals? Data collection included surveys, a two-hour group interview of four participants, six, hour-long individual interviews, the collection of participant-provided artifacts, and artifacts collected from DuBois High Schools and Clinton County Public Schools. Positioning theory was used as the lens through which I examined the data. Findings suggest that teachers’ instructional decisions are highly influenced by high-stakes testing and that the culture of blame created by the overemphasis on test scores. Although the DuBois High School mathematics department fosters a community of care for their students, it is not enough to overcome the misalignment with the school administrators’ goals for their students.