This document reports on a series of visual scanning studies done with Israeli preschoolers and kindergartners to resolve issues related to diagnostic test and instructional materials design. The first study assessed the effect of item content on error rate. Three multiple-choice tests, differing only in item content, were given to 38 kindergartners. The second study assessed scanning preferences of 80 preschoolers and kindergartners by a picture naming task. A significant increase in both uniformity and in right-to-left scanning was found between nursery and preschool subjects, but not between preschoolers and kindergartners. Preschoolers showed low uniformity and no clear directional preference. The third study explored directional preferences for visual scanning through a multiple choice format with two correct alternatives. Each of 80 subjects received two versions of each test: one with target to the left of a horizontal row of alternatives and one with target to the right. The alternative closest to the target was preferred consistently, showing target position to be the major determinant of scanning direction in such formats. The fourth study explored the effect of target position on order reversal errors using (two formats of) the letter matching test: target to the left of horizontally arranged alternatives and target to the right. No significant difference was found in reversal errors for the two positions. (Author/SB)