ABSTRACT Comparing reading test results to an understanding of “literary competence” as internalised literary conventions, the present article proposes a revision of the conception as well as a model view for practical use. Two Russian students´ texts, produced within the framework of an on-going international research project, are used as examples, showing that literary competence cannot be reduced to internalised literary conventions, although they are recognized as a fundamental component of literary competence. In accordance with Mikhail Bakhtin, esthetical reading is understood as a profoundly personal act, taking place also beyond conventions. Therefore, if too much attention is drawn to “performance competence”, two important components of literary competence can be overlooked: “constitutional competence” – the hallmark of the human species, according to Aristotle – and ”literary transfer-competence”, more or less identical with the “subtilitas applicandi” of the hermeneutic tradition. In the light of this broader understanding of literary competence, the article also tries to discern typical merits and weaknesses of literary school cultures in Sweden and Russia.