A database with information from 521 experiments of reinforced concrete structural walls was assembled as part of work being done with ACI Subcommittee 445B (Seismic Shear). Out of these 521 walls, 260 specimens with detailed information on reinforcement layout and properties were selected, analyzed and classified into three sets: Set A: 95 walls likely to have failed in shear Set B: 39 walls inferred to have failed in shear in abrupt manner Set C: 165 walls likely to have failed in flexure This investigation tested the hypothesis that shear strength is insensitive to load cycles applied before yielding of longitudinal reinforcement. The expression used in the U.S. today to proportion walls to prevent shear failure [ACI 318-14 Eq. 18.10.4.1] was used as a frame of reference. Walls in Set C were investigated to evaluate the compiled experimental data, and the classification criteria used in this study. Experimental data presented suggest that there is no clear correlation between measured shear strength and the number of load cycles applied before yielding of longitudinal reinforcement. The design expression used as reference [ACI 318-14 (18.10.4.1)] provided reliable estimates of wall shear strength