Seventy-six third- and fourth-grade children classified as learning disabled or behaviorally disordered were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Students assigned to the treatment condition were taught test-taking skills pertinent to reading achievement tests. Students were taught, in small groups over a 2-week period, such strategies as attending to appropriate stimuli, marking answers carefully, using time well, and avoiding errors. Following the training procedures, students were administered standardized achievement tests in their normal classroom assignments. Results indicated that trained students scored significantly higher on the Word Study Skills subtest of the Stanford Achievement Test. Scores on the Reading Comprehension subtest were not affected by training. The relevance of these findings to assessment in special education is discussed.
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