Documentation for the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC)
Literacy, Numeracy and Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments - Framework for the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) A basic level of literacy and numeracy is essential for full participation in modern societies. While very few people in most of the advanced countries could be regarded as illiterate or innumerate, recent studies have shown that there are, in fact, significant numbers of people with poor skills, and that low levels of skills are associated with lower wages and greater chances of unemployment and disengagement from the labour market.
» Background Questionnaire The PIAAC background questionnaire includes a range of information regarding the factors which influence the development and maintenance of skills such as education, social background, engagement with literacy and numeracy and ICTs, language as well as information on outcomes which may be related to skills. Information is collected on the current activity of respondents, employment status and income. In terms of non-economic outcomes, the survey includes questions on health status, volunteering, political efficacy and social trust.
Background Questionnaire – Conceptual Framework The current paper provides an overview of the conceptual framework developed for the PIAAC Background Questionnaire and where relevant, includes the items that have been included in the Questionnaire.
PIAAC Technical Standards The Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) has established technical standards and guidelines to ensure that the survey design and implementation processes of PIAAC yield high-quality and internationally comparable data. This document provides an introduction to PIAAC and its objectives as well as the methodologies and presents the proposed standards, together with their rationale, technical implications, recommendations for implementation and quality assurance procedures. In addition to the standards and guidelines, the document provides recommendations which are designed to further improve the quality of the survey implementation and results.
Sample Items Six examples of items extracted from the Education and Skills online field test, the online version of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), are included in this document. They are covering different levels of difficulty in the three domains assessed: literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology rich-environments.
Proficiency levels description Besides of presenting key facts about the Survey of Adult Skills, this document provides the detailed explanation of the proficiency levels in the three domains assessed in the Survey: literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments, as well as the corresponding proficiency score.
Capacity-building Workshops This two-page brochure presents the different trainings offered in the framework of the implementation of the Survey of Adult Skills.
