- How well did adults in New Zealand do in the assessment?
- How did adults’ skills evolve over the past decade?
- Skill differences related to educational attainment, gender and immigrant background
- How do skills relate to economic and social outcomes in New Zealand?
- Key features of the Second Cycle of the Survey of Adult Skills
Survey of Adults Skills 2023: New Zealand
Table of contents
The Survey of Adult Skills offers unique insights on adults’ proficiency in literacy, numeracy, and problem solving. These skills are crucial for both personal and societal success, and form the foundation for continuous learning and innovation. Skilled adults are better equipped to handle the complexities of modern life. By effectively navigating today’s information-rich environment, they contribute to more informed decisions and policies.
In 2022-23, the survey assessed adults aged 16-65 in 31 countries and economies. New Zealand participated in the Survey of Adult Skills for the second time in 2022-23 (its first participation was in 2014-15). By comparing results over time and with those of other participating countries and economies, New Zealand can track the skill levels of its adult population, pinpoint barriers to skill development and use, and craft effective policies to address these challenges.
New Zealand, OECD average and selected comparison countries/economies
Notes: Comparison countries include the highest-performing countries, and the participating countries and economies with the largest population of adults aged 16-65. Horizontal lines that extend beyond the markers represent a measure of uncertainty associated with mean estimates (the 95% confidence interval).
Source: Table A.2.1.
In New Zealand, adults aged 16-65 scored, on average, 260 points in literacy (close to the OECD average), 256 points in numeracy (below the OECD average), and 249 points in adaptive problem solving (close to the OECD average) (Figure 1).
In literacy, 26% of adults (OECD average: 26%) scored at Level 1 or below, meaning they have low literacy proficiency. At Level 1, they can understand short texts and organised lists when information is clearly indicated, find specific information and identify relevant links. Those below Level 1 can at most understand short, simple sentences. At the other end of the spectrum, 13% of adults (OECD average: 12%) scored at Levels 4 or 5 in literacy and are high performers. These adults can comprehend and evaluate long, dense texts across several pages, grasp complex or hidden meanings, and use prior knowledge to understand texts and complete tasks (see Table 2.4 in Chapter 2 for a description of what adults can do at each proficiency level in literacy, and Figure 2 for the proportion of adults at each level).
In numeracy, 28% of adults (OECD average: 25%) scored at or below Level 1 proficiency. At Level 1, they can do basic maths with whole numbers or money, understand decimals, and find single pieces of information in tables or charts, but may struggle with tasks needing multiple steps (e.g. solving a proportion). Those below Level 1 can add and subtract small numbers. Adults at Levels 4 or 5 are top performers (12% in New Zealand, 14% on average across OECD countries and economies). They can calculate and understand rates and ratios, interpret complex graphs, and critically evaluate statistical claims. (see Table 2.5 in Chapter 2 for a description of what adults can do at each proficiency level in numeracy, and Figure 2 for the proportion of adults at each level).
In adaptive problem solving, 29% of adults (OECD average: 29%) scored at or below Level 1 proficiency. Adults at Level 1 can solve simple problems with few variables and little irrelevant information, which do not change as they make progress towards the solution. They struggle with multi-step problems, or those needing monitoring of multiple variables. Adults below Level 1 at most understand very simple problems, typically solved in one step. Some 7% of adults (OECD average: 5%) scored at Level 4. They have a deeper understanding of problems, and can adapt to unexpected changes, even if they require a major re-evaluation of the problem (see Table 2.6 in Chapter 2 for a description of what adults can do at each proficiency level in adaptive problem solving, and Figure 2 for the proportion of adults at each level).
When considering all three domains jointly, 19% of adults in New Zealand (OECD average: 18%) scored at the two lowest levels of these proficiency scales (Table A.2.3).
New Zealand and OECD average
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
Source: Table A.2.2.
Older adults (aged 55 to 65) in New Zealand displayed lower proficiency than 25-34 year-olds in adaptive problem solving, and similar proficiency in literacy and numeracy (Figure 3). On average across OECD countries, adults aged 55-65 scored below 25-34 year-olds in all domains (by 30 points, in literacy). Skill gaps between older and younger adults could reflect ageing effects (see below), but also differences in the quality and quantity of education and training across generations.
For young adults still enrolled in initial education or who completed it only recently, the results of the Survey of Adult Skills complement those from school-based assessments and provide useful information about the quality of education systems. In New Zealand, young adults aged 16 to 24 scored, on average, 254 points in literacy (below the OECD average), 247 points in numeracy (below the OECD average), and 250 points in adaptive problem solving (below the OECD average) (Figure 3).
New Zealand and OECD average
Note: The shaded area represents a measure of uncertainty associated with estimates (the 95% confidence interval).
Source: Table A.2.4.
In New Zealand, average results in 2022-23 went down compared to 2014-15 in literacy and numeracy (Table A.3.1). Performance declines between 2014 and 2022-23 were particularly large in New Zealand, and were strongest among lower-performing adults (Table A.3.3). In both numeracy and literacy, the share of adults scoring at Level 1 or below increased. In numeracy, the share of high-performing adults (scoring at Levels 4 or 5) also shrank, but this was not observed in literacy (Table A.3.2).
New Zealand, 2014-15 and 2022-23
Note: Does not include adults who in Cycle 2 were only administered the doorstep interview due to a language barrier, to maximise the comparability across cycles.
Source: Table A.3.2.
Comparing how adults born in the same years performed across different cycles, and, therefore, at different ages, provides insights into how skills change, on average, as people age. In most countries, these comparisons reveal substantial age-related skill losses after the age of 35 (but more rarely among younger adults). Age-related skill losses are also observed in New Zealand. Young adults born between 1989 and 1996 scored 13 points lower in literacy in 2022-23 (when they were 27-34 years old) than in 2014-15 (when they were 19-26 years old), a non-significant change. Meanwhile, older generations, aged 47 to 57 in 2014-15, scored 24 points lower in literacy in 2022-23 (when they were 55-65 years old), a significant decline (Figure 5).
Change in literacy proficiency within birth cohorts (2014-15 to 2022-23)
Note: Does not include adults who in Cycle 2 were only administered the doorstep interview due to a language barrier, to maximise the comparability across cycles; does not include foreign-born adults who had lived in the country less than 10 years. Any non-significant differences are shown in a lighter tone.
Source: Table A.3.10 (L).
In all countries and economies, higher levels of educational attainment are associated with greater proficiency in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving. In New Zealand, among adults aged 25-65, those with tertiary education scored 29 points higher in literacy than those with upper secondary education (OECD average: 33 points), and those with upper secondary education scored 48 points higher than those with less than upper secondary education (OECD average: 43 points) (Table A.2.5 (L)).
On average, across participating OECD countries and economies, women displayed higher average proficiency than men in literacy (by 3 points), while men scored higher in numeracy (by 10 points) and adaptive problem solving (by 2 points). In New Zealand, a significant 12 points difference in favour of women was observed in literacy; no significant difference was observed in numeracy; and no significant difference was observed in adaptive problem solving (Table A.2.7).
Native-born adults of native-born parents displayed higher proficiency in literacy than foreign-born adults of foreign-born parents (Table A.2.10 (L)). The difference in literacy scores between the two groups corresponds to 20 points in literacy (Table A.2.10 (L)). In New Zealand, native-born adults of native-born parents make up 49% of the population that participated in the Survey of Adult Skills, while the second group (foreign-born adults of foreign-born parents) accounts for 33% of the population. (Table B.3.10).
Between 2014 and 2022-23, the proportion of foreign-born adults of foreign-born parents grew by about 7 percentage points in New Zealand (Table B.3.10 (Trend)). Over this same time period, the declines in literacy proficiency were more pronounced for foreign-born adults than for native-born adults in New Zealand (Table A.3.14), and the literacy gap between the two groups widened (Table A.3.15). Declines in literacy proficiency were also stronger among men than among women over this same period, particularly in the younger age groups (Tables A.3.4 and A.3.5).
Skills have a major impact on lives. In general, higher skills bring significant economic and social benefits. Adults with higher skills tend to have higher educational qualifications; however, the benefits of higher skills extend above and beyond the opportunities associated merely with formal educational qualifications.
In New Zealand, as well as on average across OECD countries, adults who score at the highest levels of the numeracy proficiency scale have significantly better employment opportunities compared to adults who score at or below Level 1 (Figure 6).
Adults aged 25-65 not in formal education
Note: Does not include adults who were only administered the doorstep interview due to a language barrier.
Source: Tables A.4.2 (N) and A.4.7 (N).
In New Zealand, differences in employment outcomes by skill level persist even when comparing adults with similar education attainment (and after accounting for other differences that might be associated with higher skills). After accounting for these differences, a one-standard-deviation increase in numeracy proficiency is associated with a 5-percentage point higher likelihood of participating in the labour force (Table A.4.5); and, among the active population, with a further 1-percentage-point reduction in the risk of being unemployed (Table A.4.3) And, among employed adults, a one-standard-deviation increase in numeracy proficiency is associated with wages that are 9% higher, a statistically significant difference. For comparison, a one-standard-deviation increase in education is associated with wages that are 14% higher in New Zealand (Table A.4.8).
Skills are closely related to both individual well-being (e.g. self-reported health and life satisfaction) and civic engagement (e.g. political efficacy, trust and volunteering). Many low-skilled adults feel disconnected from political processes and lack the skills to engage with complex digital information, which is a growing concern for modern democracies.
Adults who score at the highest levels of the proficiency scale were significantly more likely to report high levels of life satisfaction and being in very good or excellent health than adults who score at or below Level 1, in New Zealand as well as on average across OECD countries (Figure 7 and Table A.4.10 (N)).
Adults aged 25-65 not in formal education
Notes: Does not include adults who were only administered the doorstep interview due to a language barrier. All outcomes are based on self-reports. Life satisfaction, Trust, Political efficacy: Share of adults reporting a value of 7 or higher, on scales ranging from 0 to 10, in response to the following questions: ‘All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?’; ‘Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted [=10], or that you can’t be too careful [=0] in dealing with people?’; ‘How much would you say the political system in [your country] allows people like you to have a say in what the government does?’. Volunteer activities: Share of adults who reported any volunteer activity in the past 12 months.
Source: Table A.4.10 (N).
In New Zealand, adults who scored at the highest levels of the proficiency scales were also significantly more likely to report a high level of agreement with the statement “people can be trusted” (as opposed to “you can’t be too careful”) (Figure 7). The positive relationship of skills with trust holds even when accounting for a number of other social and demographic characteristics (age, gender, years of education, immigrant background, parental educational attainment, and whether an individual lives with a partner or has children) (Table A.4.11 (N)).
In OECD countries, many workers are mismatched to their jobs, meaning that their qualifications, skills, or fields of study are different from what their current job would require. Mismatches can result from an inefficient allocation of workers to jobs. They can also reflect the fact that workforce skills and qualifications are not keeping pace with structural changes in the economy, driven by digitalisation, an ageing population, and the green transition.
Employed adults aged 25-65 who are not self-employed
Note: Does not include adults who were only administered the doorstep interview due to a language barrier.
Source: Table A.4.12.
In New Zealand, about 33% of workers are over-qualified (OECD average: 23%), and a further 9% are under-qualified (OECD average: 9%), meaning their highest educational qualification is above or below the level that is typically required for their current job (Figure 8).
About 10% of workers report that some of their skills are lower than what is required for their job (OECD average: 10%) (Figure 8). In New Zealand, they often say this is because they need to improve their computer or software skills (50%), followed by project management or organizational skills (39%) (Table A.4.13).
Finally, 43% of workers are mismatched in terms of field of study, because their highest qualification is not in the field that is most relevant to their job (Figure 8).
In OECD countries, adults who are overqualified for their job incur significant economic and social costs. This is less the case in New Zealand: on average, their wages are 17% lower than peers in well-matched jobs who have similar educational attainment (OECD average: 12% lower) (Table A.4.16). However, they are not significantly less likely to report a high level of life satisfaction (OECD average: 4 percentage points less likely) (Table A.4.17).
The Survey of Adult Skills collects data through a personal interview and a self-completed assessment. As a household survey, data collection takes place in the respondents’ own homes. In New Zealand, 5359 adults participated in the survey (this reflects an overall response rate of 48%). The sample was drawn to be representative of about 3.3 million 16-to-65-year-olds residing in the country at the time of data collection, irrespective of nationality, citizenship or language status. Analyses were conducted to ensure that no significant bias would result from non-response (see the Reader’s Companion for more details on these analyses, and read more about the quality of New Zealand’s data in the Reader’s Guide in OECD (2024), Do adults have the skills they need to thrive in a changing world? Survey of Adult Skills 2023).
The 2023 Survey of Adult Skills assessed adults in three domains: literacy, numeracy, and adaptive problem solving. The assessments required adults to complete a set of tasks that reflect how these skills are applied across a wide range of situations in adults’ lives. Many tasks involve data-intensive, complex digital environments, which are increasingly common in the workplace and everyday life in modern societies.
To this end, the assessment was exclusively administered on digital devices (tablets). This constitutes an important innovation over the previous cycle of the survey, where respondents had the option to sit the assessment using paper-based instruments.
The proficiency of respondents in each of these broad skill domains can be estimated based on their success and failure in completing assessment tasks. Proficiency estimates are reported on 500-point scales, and the same scales can also be used to describe the difficulty of assessment tasks. The analysis of how item characteristics vary as difficulty increases allows the OECD to identify and describe discrete levels of proficiency. If an individual’s score is within a given level of proficiency, this implies that he or she is likely to successfully complete any task located at or below that same level.
Before completing the assessment on a tablet, participants in the Survey of Adult Skills were asked to provide information about themselves, including: their demographic and background characteristics, educational attainment, labour force status and employment, skills use, information on the working environment, non-economic outcomes, and social and emotional skills. The questionnaire was administered by a trained interviewer.
Some participants were not sufficiently fluent in the assessment language and were not able to communicate well enough with the interviewer to answer the background questionnaire. In these cases, a “doorstep” questionnaire was offered. This self-administered questionnaire, available in many different languages, collects key personal background information on gender, age, years of schooling, employment status, country of origin and duration of residence in the survey country. A statistical model was then used to estimate the proficiency of these respondents in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving, based solely on the information available from this questionnaire.
In the first cycle of the survey, the doorstep questionnaire was not available. As a result, no information was collected on adults lacking sufficient language proficiency, and their proficiency could not be estimated. The inclusion of respondents to the doorstep interview can potentially affect the comparability of results between the first and the second cycle of the survey. In OECD reports, doorstep respondents are generally excluded when comparing results across cycles.
References
OECD (2024), Do adults have the skills they need to thrive in a changing world? Survey of Adult Skills 2023, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b263dc5d-en
OECD (2024), Survey of Adult Skills 2023 Reader’s Companion, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/3639d1e2-en
For more information about the Survey of Adult Skills visit www.oecd.org/en/about/programmes/piaac.html
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For queries or more information, please contact the PIAAC team at edu.piaac@oecd.org.
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