Despite widespread and increasing use of high school exit exams, the NAS report
concluded, “Very little is known about the specific consequences of passing or failing a high
school graduation examination, as distinct from earning or not earning a high school diploma for
other reasons….The consequences of using high-stakes tests to grant or withhold high school
diplomas may be positive or negative. For example, if high-school graduation tests motivate
students to work harder in school, the result may be increased learning for those who pass the
test and, perhaps, even for those who fail” (p 288). Since a primary goal of high-stakes testing is
to increase student achievement, it would seem important to study the effect of testing on student
motivation. Why is so little known about the effects of testing on student motivation? Especially
since students often have multiple opportunities to pass a high school graduation test, it would be
useful to know whether students (or which students) who fail an initial testing are in fact
motivated to work harder in school so as to pass the test on the next occasion, or whether they
are discouraged in a manner that decreases their effort and lowers subsequent achievement.