Predicting reading literacy and its improvement in the Polish national extension of the PISA study: The role of intelligence, trait- and state-anxiety, socio-economic status and school-type

• School-type accounted for the largest effect in reading performance development.
• The difference in reading scores between school-types grew bigger in a year.
• Girls outperformed boys in reading and improved their skills during the year more.
• Intelligence had a positive effect on reading performance improvement.
• Anxiety had a negative effect on reading literacy and its improvement.

This study investigates predictors of reading literacy and its improvement during one year of education in secondary school. In a sample of 3352 Polish students attending vocational school and 3 types of high-schools (1708 males and 1644 females, mean age 16.7 at the beginning of the study), reading literacy was measured twice in the first and the second year of secondary education using the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) tools. During the year, intelligence was also assessed and trait- and state-anxiety test was implemented after the second reading measurement. Results showed that vocational school students had lower reading scores than high-school students in the first reading test and this difference grew larger by the second test. Girls not only outperformed boys in reading but improved their skills during the year more than boys as well. We observed positive effects of intelligence and negative overall effect of trait- and state-anxiety. SES only predicted intelligence and first time reading performance.