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An important educational aim in secondary school is to impart sufficient literary literacy to ensure that students are able to understand and reflect literary texts, such as lyrics, epics, or dramas. This paper presents the theoretical framework, challenges of item design and empirical results from an interdisciplinary research project which was designed to analyze a central aspect of literary literacy (LL), i.e. the ability to understand literary texts. Our study explores two questions: First, can literary literacy be assessed and modeled as a multi-dimensional construct with respect to content, form, and context? Second, is literary literacy distinguishable from factual reading literacy for expository texts? A sample of 1300 9th-graders (49% girls) from 52 German school classes participated in the study and completed tests of literary literacy and factual reading literacy for expository texts. According to the theory of semiotic aesthetics, literary literacy can be described as an at least twodimensional construct consisting of semantic and idiolectal literary literacy. This was confirmed by the data. Although literary literacy and factual reading literacy for expository texts were strongly correlated, they present partly distinct competencies. More generally, the project resulted in a reliable and valid measure of a theory-based construct of literary literacy which can be used in student assessments as well as in studies exploring the teaching and learning processes relevant to the development of this competence.

Abstract. The study introduces a math anxiety scale that systematically addresses psychological components, including cognitive (worry) and affective (nervousness) math anxiety when dealing with mathematical problems in mathematics-related settings (concerning tests, teachers, learning in class, working with mathematics textbooks, mathematics homework, and applying mathematics in everyday life). Our results indicate a hierarchical structure of math anxiety. Specifically, cognitive and affective math anxiety at the second-order level each determined three setting factors at the first-order level concerning evaluation (tests, teachers), learning (in class, with mathematics books, and during homework), and application (applying mathematics in everyday life). Furthermore, girls reported higher math anxiety than boys, which was particularly pronounced in the affective scale and in high-stakes academic settings, such as those involving evaluation and learning. After controlling for mathematics performance, gender effects decreased in all sub-dimensions but remained significant in affective math evaluation anxiety. Practical implications and directions for further research on cognitive and affective math anxiety are discussed.