The Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) was administered to over 200 third graders to investigate the effects of using consumable test booklets versus non-consumable booklets which require a separate answer sheet. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant differences in CTBS scores between students using consumable booklets and those using single answer sheets. Raw scores on five verbal subtests were observed, as well as the number of responses left blank (indicating students who worked at a slower rate). Analyses were conducted for six groups of students: (1) entire sample; (2) low verbal ability; (3) medium ability; (4) high ability; (5) educable mentally handicapped, learning disabled, and those who had been retained from grade promotion; and (6) entire sample except group (5). Although raw scores of the entire group were slightly higher when consumable booklets were used, the mean difference was not significant. More items were left blank by students using answer sheets, particularly for the low and medium ability groups. For students with learning difficulties, scores were significantly higher on the spelling test only when consumable booklets were used. It was concluded that there was no evidence to justify the use of one format over the other at the third grade level. (Author/GDC)