Catterall (1989) surveyed an academically diverse sample of 736 ninth and eleventh
grade students from eight states concerning their views of tests required for graduation. He found
that 53% of students provided affirmative answers to the question, “Do tests required for
graduation discourage some students from staying in high school?”, while 19% answered
negatively and 28% were unsure. In contrast, only 14% stated that they were “personally aware
of someone who failed a graduation test and later left school because of this.” Low achieving
students were more likely than high achieving students to perceive that graduation tests were
discouraging and to know someone who had left school as a result.