The research question posed in the study refers to the relationship between the level of motivation of high school graduates taking the secondary school leaving exam and their subjective perception of the difficulty of the test as well as subjective probability of achieving success. According to the risk-taking model proposed by Atkinson (1957) it is assumed the existence of such relationship, namely that the level of achievement motivation of students taking up the challenge of maturity exam is the variable differentiating both the perception of the students' chances of success as well as their subjective evaluation of the difficulty of the exam.