Public schools face raised performance expectations on group-administered achievement tests. In response, educators have implemented various preparation strategies to ready students. However, the research community largely ignores the impact of setting on test performance. This randomized field trial assesses whether or not there were significant performance differences between two group test-taking conditions (classroom vs. arena) on the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exams. Participants included tenth-grade students from a medium-sized Wisconsin high school. Results showed no overall achievement advantage for classroom test takers. However, students in the top GPA quartile performed better in the classroom setting while students in the bottom GPA quartile performed better in the arena setting. Implications for school officials are presented. (Contains 3 tables and 3 figures.)