The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of test-taking strategies based on Direct Instruction on
academic achievement and learning motivation of low-achieving students in reading. 20 low-achieving students in
reading from the fifth grade were selected. The students were divided into two groups, an experimental group
with test-taking strategy based on Direct Instruction and a control group without test-taking strategy based on
Direct Instruction. The experiment was conducted for 30 minutes each session, three times a week for 20
sessions. It would be undesirable to expect high grades using test-taking strategy without study. Therefore, all
subjects received Korean remedial education after school. To verify the effects of the experiment, tests for
academic achievement and learning motivation were conducted before and after intervention. Also, formative
assessments for academic achievement were conducted during the intervention. The data were analyzed by
ANCOVA and means with a graph. The results obtained in this study are summarized as follows. First, the
test-taking strategy based on Direct Instruction has positive effects on the academic achievement of low-achieving
students in reading. Second, the test-taking strategy based on Direct Instruction has positive effects on the
achievement progress of low-achieving students in reading. In fact, the data revealed the highest achievement
progress at the generalization-activation level. Third, the test-taking strategy based on Direct Instruction has
positive effects on learning motivation and learning motivation- introjected regulation, identified regulation, and
intrinsic motivation of low-achieving students in reading. The results demonstrate that the test-taking strategy
based on Direct Instruction has positive effects on academic achievement and the learning motivation of
low-achieving students in reading. In the follow-up research, it will be necessary to apply the test-taking
strategy based on Direct Instruction with different characteristics in diverse learning settings.