Context effects in test taking were explored, paying attention to the psychological processes that occur during test taking, and modeling context effects for each individual at the item block level. A sample of 279 high school students (140 females and 139 males) was chosen to yield adequate power for detecting interactions. Reading test forms were developed, and a measure of the various test taking processes thought necessary for test performance was developed. Students were administered the reading test in unpaced (1 total time) or paced (each passage separately timed for 3.5 minutes) conditions, with paced conditions considered to demand less student responsibility for self-monitoring. The overall relationships of performance consistency and the cognition monitoring composites suggest relationships that may not occur in a typical testing situation, and that monitoring ability is positively related to performance consistency. Context effects, viewed as performance inconsistency, are perhaps an indication that the examinee is not able to meet the monitoring demands of the task. By imposing a resource allocation structure, pacing appeared to benefit those who were not effective resource allocators. To fully understand context effects, it is important to take into account the demands of the situation and test takers' abilities to meet those demands. Six graphs and three tables present study data. (SLD)