Experimental results of a small strain testing program on block samples of compressible Chicago clays are presented, including bender element tests and drained axisymmetric directional stress probes employing internal measurements of axial and radial deformation and axial loads. Bender element propagation velocities and stiffness are measured during K₀ reconsolidation and creep, and are related primarily to the mean normal effective stress p'. The results of the stress probes indicate that the secant shear stiffness is directionally dependent at all strain levels between 0.001% and 0.1% under axisymmetric conditions. Because bender elements induce dispersive axisymmetric flexural waves into a soil column, the frequency of the input must be carefully selected so that the measured propagation velocity is representative of a shear wave velocity.