In a study concerned with the function of test wiseness in competency testing and with the impact of question stem structure within a reading competency test, 43 fourth grade students and 38 sixth grade students were administered one form each of the experimental material. This material consisted of ten questions presented in the stylized language pattern of the original format (drawn from the Basic Competency Test in reading--1975) and ten questions recast by changing the vocabulary, the syntax, or both. Data were analyzed by total score, stylized question stems, and altered question stems for grade, reading, and performance levels. Results showed that (1) sixth grade students recorded higher total scores, (2) fourth grade students achieved higher scores with the altered (less formal) stems, and (3) questions reflecting syntactic restructuring resulted in the highest percentage of correct responses when compared to vocabulary changes or a combination of alterations. Data indicate that care should be taken when structuring test items to assure direct and clear syntactic arrangement of question stems, and that students will score according to their ability when question stems more closely parrallel their own language patterns. (JM)