An increasingly large number of students are experiencing test anxiety in the school setting. Cognitive Interruption Theory (CIT) can explain why students who experience test anxiety can lose their prior knowledge while in a testing setting. Schools often use traditional identification strategies to address test anxiety; unfortunately, these identification strategies are typically ineffective at identifying borderline students. This can lead to a higher portion of students with below grade level proficient test scores on standardized tests. The purpose of this qualitative study was two-fold: 1). to understand students' experiences related to anxiety during high-stakes testing and 2). to discover principals' perceptions about how they address the issue of test anxiety for their students. This rural Indiana study used an adapted version of the Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale- 2nd Edition (CTAR) to validate that the students who were interviewed suffer from test anxiety. The students who identified with the highest level of test anxiety from the CTAR were interviewed for the study. By the end of the study, the findings showed that there were incongruencies between how administrators and students perceived the school's support of test anxiety. The study also found that administrator strategies sometimes caused students to experience more test anxiety, and many students stated that the school did not provide resources to assist them with their test anxiety. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]