The work reported here is based on the second Malta National Literacy Survey, carried out in March 2002. All Year 5 pupils in Malta were involved and their literacy attainment in both Maltese and English was tested. Two parallel multi-level analyses were carried out, one for Maltese, the other for English. The background variables were; gender, age, first language, special educational needs, parents' education, parents' occupation, number of Year 5 classes, type of school and region of school. Significant effects were discovered for pupil, home and school variables.