The role of literacy skills in adolescents' mathematics word problem performance: Controlling for visuo-spatial ability and mathematics anxiety

• Literacy skills were significantly associated with math word problem skills among adolescents.
• The role of literacy skills seemed to be more important among boys than girls.
• Visuo-spatial ability was not associated with word problem skills neither among boys nor girls.
• The overall role of mathematics anxiety was more important among girls than boys.

The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between eighth-grade adolescents' literacy skills and mathematics word problem performance. Moreover, visuo-spatial ability and mathematics anxiety were considered as covariates. According to the analyses of (co)variance, literacy skills were significantly associated with mathematics word problem skills among the 99 8th grade participants of the study. It is primarily for boys that reading comprehension skill predicts success in solving math word problems, while technical reading predicts both calculation skill and word problem solving skill across genders. Visuo-spatial ability was not a significant covariate in either of the models, whereas mathematics anxiety was a significant covariate in the girls' model. The results of the present study thus suggest that learning mathematics is particularly intertwined with good technical reading skills, even in adolescence. Additionally, emphasizing an encouraging atmosphere in math classes could help girls with high levels of mathematics anxiety.