Abstract: A mineral wool-free acoustical tile composition and the acoustical tile made therefrom wherein an expanded perlite is used as a substitute for granulated mineral wool to provide porosity and good sound absorption properties. It is preferred that the composition and acoustical tile also contain an inorganic filler to provide texturability during the manufacturing process. In addition, the acoustical tile composition also contains a starch gel binder and a fiber reinforcing agent selected from the group consisting of cellulosic fibers, polymeric fibers and glass fibers. It has been found that the mineral wool-free acoustical tile compositions of this invention have acoustical properties comparable to the commercially available cast mineral wool tiles. In addition, the mineral wool-free compositions can be used to cast an acoustical tile using equipment and procedures currently used to produce cast mineral wool tiles.