Effects of test-taking instruction for University of North Carolina medical students who failed end-of-year examinations were studied. The exam is compensatory and includes a number of subtests, including National Board (NB) Part I standardized subtests in pathology, pharmacology, and physiology. Students who had to repeat NB Part I subtests were assessed over a 5-year period. Two groups were evaluated: an intervention group of 15 students who participated in a special intervention program involving test-taking skills instruction; and a comparison group of 13 nonparticipants. Test-taking instruction consisted of: a systematic approach for taking tests, focusing on key words in both item stems and options, avoiding mistakes and increasing accuracy levels, analyzing perceived difficult items, and using guessing strategies as a last resort. The subtests were used as units of analyses, and the intervention group students retook 39 subtests compared to 33 for comparison group students. The intervention group's mean retest performance was significantly greater than that of the comparison group. It was concluded that intervention results in higher test performance and the implications are significant for medical students who have inadequate test-taking skills or for students undergoing academic remediation. (Author/SW)