Wordpress update_publish_meta doesn't update dynamic values

This can be a little strange, I'm using "update_publish_meta" to update the custom fields in Wordpress. After I run update_publish_meta($publish_id, 'Test_Field', 'Test Value') the custom area updates with no problem However when I personally use a string value it doesn't update:

$test_value = "Test";
 echo $test_value; // No problem here
 echo $post_id; // No problem here
 update_post_meta($post_id, 'Test_Field', $test_value);

Thanks greatly ahead of time for the help

Stu

wordpress update custom-fields

The first example used $publish_id and solution $page_id. Was that the typo?

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