Despite the tremendous national momentum toward high stakes testing, relatively little
research has documented the socioemotional and behavioral impact on students when they are
informed of test failure. What emotions are aroused by being told one failed a high stakes test?
Does test failure motivate students to study harder and improve their test performance? How
does it affect relationships with parents and peers? These questions are important, because many
students are told they failed high stakes tests each year, and understanding their responses can
guide efforts at remediation and perhaps prevent students from giving up and dropping out of
school (Griffin & Heidorn, 1996; Huebert & Hauser, 1999).