This study examined why some high achievers on the course final exam were unsuccessful on the proficiency exam in English. We hypothesized that the learning motives and learning behaviors (learning strategy, learning time) had different effects on the outcomes of the exams. First, the relation between the variables was investigated using structural equation modeling. Second, the learning behaviors of students who got good marks on both exams were compared with students who did well only on the course final exam. The results were as follows. (a)Learning motives influenced test performance via learning behaviors. (b)Content-attached motives influenced all variables concerning learning behaviors. (c)Content-detached motives influenced all variables concerning learning behaviors that were related only to the course final exam. (d)The students who got good marks on both exams performed the learning behaviors that were useful on the proficiency exam more frequently than the students who did well only on the course final exam.