Affective variables and traits such as confidence and motivation have been shown to impact students’ achievement in science and mathematics as well as students’ willingness to continue to study these subjects. In addition, high-stakes examinations have been shown to negatively affect students’ confidence and motivation. Although Turkey and Ireland both have high-stakes examinations at the end of secondary school which determine entry to university, the examination systems differ in a number of ways. In this paper we compare the traits and attitudes of students in these two countries in relation to aspects of the teaching, learning and assessment of mathematics, and investigate the role that high-stakes examinations play. To do this, we use data collected from over 1200 students in Ireland and Turkey using the same instrument. We found that Turkish students were on average more confident and less anxious about mathematics than the Irish students. We also found exam-related differences in students’ views on teaching and study methods as well as on alternative assessment systems.