An experimental study of small-scale square three-point bend A-36 steel specimens with deep, intermediate, and shallow flaws was conducted to confirm the alW effect for small specimens and to begin to examine the structural significance of shallow-flaw test results. Experimental CTOD values were determined for the small-scale specimens at temperatures corresponding to the lower shelf, lower transition region, and upper transition region.The results of the present study confirm the same conclusion as that from large-scale specimen testing, namely, shallow-flawed specimens exhibit higher fracture toughness than specimens with deep flaws.Furthermore, the results confirm that small-scale specimens with shallow flaws also undergo a loss of constraint at the crack tip which causes larger deformation as the plastic zone reaches the back surface of the specimen.