Student exposure to modern physics topics (e.g., quantum mechanics, special relativity) is severely limited in k-12 education, but the inclusion of such topics in secondary physics curricula has gained momentum since the turn of the 21st century. Secondary physics curricula in the U.S. predominantly focus on physics content established prior to the 20th century, such as Newtonian mechanics, and rarely address modern topics like quantum physics. Even so, students are still frequently exposed to terms such as quantum physics through a variety of contexts prior to post-secondary education. An analysis of secondary student views of quantum physics may prove valuable to the research community and in the development and implementation of introductory quantum physics curricula. The aim of this study is to analyze secondary student perspectives of the term quantum physics. To do so, a group of secondary physics students were asked to complete a word-association test to establish a baseline of commonalities among student perspectives. The results of the tests revealed significant commonalities among student perspectives of quantum physics with the most common association being complexity. The results of the tests also revealed that students lack a relevant understanding of quantum physics principles prior to formal instruction and often view the topic as a complex version of classical physics.