Many African Americans were imbued with the cliché that they must work twice as hard as others to be a success in life. Entering college, students with this belief put extensive effort into earning top grades to ensure quality preparation for their chosen career; yet, some fail to earn top scores. Why? This is the million dollar question, but the answer may not be completely elusive. To investigate the problem students in a teacher preparation program were surveyed to gain their perceptions as to why they did not earn perfect scores on chapter quizzes (comprehension digests--CD, as known in the course). Additionally, the students were requested to specify their plan for improving their CD performance. The responses were sorted into major categories. The results showed that the students had challenges in the areas of test preparation, test-taking strategies, acquiring resources, benefiting from instruction, and dealing with personal problems. Plans to improve test performance fell into the areas of better test preparation, improved test-taking strategies, greater commitment to instruction, and acquisition of appropriate resources. Implications are provided as to how both the instructor and the students can help ensure better, if not perfect, scores on tests in their area of study.