diff --git a/spring-test/src/test/java/org/springframework/test/web/servlet/samples/standalone/resultmatchers/HeaderAssertionTests.java b/spring-test/src/test/java/org/springframework/test/web/servlet/samples/standalone/resultmatchers/HeaderAssertionTests.java
index a23dc676b887..7a3ae1a5b3c8 100644
--- a/spring-test/src/test/java/org/springframework/test/web/servlet/samples/standalone/resultmatchers/HeaderAssertionTests.java
+++ b/spring-test/src/test/java/org/springframework/test/web/servlet/samples/standalone/resultmatchers/HeaderAssertionTests.java
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
+import org.springframework.http.HttpHeaders;
 import org.springframework.http.ResponseEntity;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
 import org.springframework.test.web.Person;
@@ -56,20 +57,19 @@ public class HeaderAssertionTests {
 
 	private String minuteAgo;
 
-	private String secondLater;
-
 	private MockMvc mockMvc;
 
 	private final long currentTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
 
+	private SimpleDateFormat dateFormat;
+
 
 	@Before
 	public void setup() {
-		SimpleDateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("EEE, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss zzz", Locale.US);
-		dateFormat.setTimeZone(TimeZone.getTimeZone("GMT"));
+		this.dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("EEE, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss zzz", Locale.US);
+		this.dateFormat.setTimeZone(TimeZone.getTimeZone("GMT"));
 		this.now = dateFormat.format(new Date(this.currentTime));
 		this.minuteAgo = dateFormat.format(new Date(this.currentTime - (1000 * 60)));
-		this.secondLater = dateFormat.format(new Date(this.currentTime + 1000));
 
 		PersonController controller = new PersonController();
 		controller.setStubTimestamp(this.currentTime);
@@ -164,29 +164,24 @@ public void doesNotExistFail() throws Exception {
 		this.mockMvc.perform(get("/persons/1")).andExpect(header().doesNotExist(LAST_MODIFIED));
 	}
 
-	@Test
-	public void stringWithIncorrectResponseHeaderValue() throws Exception {
-		assertIncorrectResponseHeader(header().string(LAST_MODIFIED, secondLater), secondLater);
-	}
-
-	@Test
-	public void stringWithMatcherAndIncorrectResponseHeaderValue() throws Exception {
-		assertIncorrectResponseHeader(header().string(LAST_MODIFIED, equalTo(secondLater)), secondLater);
-	}
-
-	@Test
-	public void dateValueWithIncorrectResponseHeaderValue() throws Exception {
-		long unexpected = this.currentTime + 1000;
-		assertIncorrectResponseHeader(header().dateValue(LAST_MODIFIED, unexpected), secondLater);
-	}
-
 	@Test(expected = AssertionError.class)
 	public void longValueWithIncorrectResponseHeaderValue() throws Exception {
 		this.mockMvc.perform(get("/persons/1")).andExpect(header().longValue("X-Rate-Limiting", 1));
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	public void stringWithMatcherAndIncorrectResponseHeaderValue() throws Exception {
+		long secondLater = this.currentTime + 1000;
+		String expected = this.dateFormat.format(new Date(secondLater));
+		assertIncorrectResponseHeader(header().string(LAST_MODIFIED, expected), expected);
+		assertIncorrectResponseHeader(header().string(LAST_MODIFIED, equalTo(expected)), expected);
+		// Comparison by date uses HttpHeaders to format the date in the error message.
+		HttpHeaders headers = new HttpHeaders();
+		headers.setDate("expected", secondLater);
+		assertIncorrectResponseHeader(header().dateValue(LAST_MODIFIED, secondLater), headers.getFirst("expected"));
+	}
 
-	private void assertIncorrectResponseHeader(ResultMatcher matcher, String unexpected) throws Exception {
+	private void assertIncorrectResponseHeader(ResultMatcher matcher, String expected) throws Exception {
 		try {
 			this.mockMvc.perform(get("/persons/1")
 					.header(IF_MODIFIED_SINCE, minuteAgo))
@@ -201,15 +196,14 @@ private void assertIncorrectResponseHeader(ResultMatcher matcher, String unexpec
 			// SPR-10659: ensure header name is in the message
 			// Unfortunately, we can't control formatting from JUnit or Hamcrest.
 			assertMessageContains(err, "Response header '" + LAST_MODIFIED + "'");
-			assertMessageContains(err, unexpected);
-			assertMessageContains(err, now);
+			assertMessageContains(err, expected);
+			assertMessageContains(err, this.now);
 		}
 	}
 
 	private void assertMessageContains(AssertionError error, String expected) {
-		String message = error.getMessage();
-		assertTrue("Failure message should contain [" + expected + "], actual is [" + message + "]",
-				message.contains(expected));
+		assertTrue("Failure message should contain [" + expected + "], actual is [" + error.getMessage() + "]",
+				error.getMessage().contains(expected));
 	}
 
 
@@ -226,15 +220,11 @@ public void setStubTimestamp(long timestamp) {
 		public ResponseEntity<Person> showEntity(@PathVariable long id, WebRequest request) {
 			return ResponseEntity
 					.ok()
-					.lastModified(calculateLastModified(id))
+					.lastModified(this.timestamp)
 					.header("X-Rate-Limiting", "42")
 					.header("Vary", "foo", "bar")
 					.body(new Person("Jason"));
 		}
-
-		private long calculateLastModified(long id) {
-			return this.timestamp;
-		}
 	}
 
 }