She will do well on/in the test.

[z7655431]

1. She scored 18 out of 20 in the spelling test. (Cambridge Dictionary)

2. She will do well on the test. (Azar grammar book)

3. You mustn’t cheat in the exam, or you will be expelled. (My teacher's handout)

Why the prepositions before the words TEST and EXAM are different? Are they correct? Can I use "on" in sentence 1? Can I use "in" in sentence 2? Can I use "on" in sentence 3? Thanks!

 

[bhaisahab]

I would use "in" in all three sentences.

 

[GoesStation]

I would use on in all three sentences. In would be unusual but not too odd in sentence 1 to my AmE ears. It would sound strange in the other two.

 

[jutfrank]

I'm English and would use in in all three sentences. On sounds strange to my ears.

 

[GoesStation]

This speake of BrE would use either in or on in the first two.

I found this interesting.

This n-gram for American English is also interesting. Google has created a terrific tool.