In 2011, Indiana lawmakers established a system to evaluate teachers using existing standardized assessments as an indicator of student learning. In this study we examined one component of Indiana's evaluation system to determine whether student knowledge of the test's consequences is predictive of test performance. Using an experimental design, we found that the type of consequences associated with an administered reading assessment were associated with achievement differences. In particular, comparisons among group means show that when students were told that either their grades or their teacher's employment status were at stake, achievement was statistically significantly higher than when students were told that there were low proximal consequences associated with the test. Given the current policy climate in the United States of using student assessments for policy formation, teacher evaluations, and state and national rankings, our findings point to the need to clearly inform students about the consequences associated with their performance.