richard des jar dins. - measuring the skills of the adult population

8/3/2019 Richard Des Jar Dins. - Measuring the Skills of the Adult Population

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P I A A C

O E C D

P r o g r a m m e f o r t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l

A s s e s s m e n t o f A d u l t C o m p e t e n c i e s

Measuring the skills of the adult

population – PIAAC

Presentation to International Skills forum event entitled “Skills for

Inclusive and Sustainable Growth in Developing Asia-Pacific: AnInternational Consultative Forum”, Manila, 12-13 December 2011

Programme for the International Assessmentof Adult Competencies (PIAAC)



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P I A A C

O E C D



PIAAC in brief

• Internationally comparable direct assessment of foundation skills

of the adult population (16-65 year olds)Literacy, numeracy and problem solvingStrong emphasis on quality control (common operational standards)

• Assessment administered in respondents’ homes (90 minutes) Computer-based assessment with pencil and paper version for people

with little to no familiarity with computers

• Round 1 now underway includes 25 countries from Europe, NorthAmerica and the Asia/Pacific region

•

Round 2 now starting possibly including Indonesia, China and India

• Future rounds possible in 2017 and 2022

• Aim is to adapt further the measurement instruments to increaserelevance to a broader range of emerging and developingcountries



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Measuring foundation skills including literacy

• Simple dichotomy & self-report of the past unreliable &

insufficient for policy purposesEither ”Literate” or ”Illiterate”: Do you know how to read? yes/no

• Functional/behavioural approach is the only meaningful standardFocus is on the degree to which one is able to decipher text-based

materials for performing tasks that people are increasingly likely toconfront in work and everyday contexts

• Other proxy measures also insufficient for policy purposesQualification based proxies ignore quality, the fact that skills can be

acquired outside formal education and can be lost over time due to alack of use

In emerging and developing countries, skills often acquired informally



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P I A A C

O E C D

P r o g r a m m e f

o r t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l

A s s e s s m e n t o f A

d u l t C o m p e t e n c i e s

High proportion of adults with low literacyproficiency despite high qualifications

Source: International Adult Literacy Survey, 1990s

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Education level

Percent

P r i m a r y

o r l e s s

0 - 6

y r s

L o w e r s

e c o n d a r y

7 - 9

y r s

57% with low

proficiency

56% with low

proficiency

27% with lowproficiency

U p p e r s

e c o n d a r y

1 0 - 1

2

y r s

P o s t - s e

c o n d a r y

n o n - u n i v e r s i t y

1 3 - 1 4

y r s

U n i v e r s i t

y

1 5 +

y r s

83% with lowproficiency



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P I A A C

O E C D

P r o g r a m m e f




The growing importance of literacy & other foundationskills for good economic and social functioning

• Well-functioning societies demand high levels of literacy andother foundation skillsGrowing demand for cognitive skills involving the understanding, interpretation,

analysis and communication of complex information

Text-based processing increasingly relevant not for only economic functioningbut also social, political and cultural functioning

The spread of PCs and ICTs continues and is transformative including indeveloping societies

• As countries move up the value-added chain of production,employment shifts away from jobs involving routine cognitive andmanual tasks, towards jobs involving tasks such as expert thinkingand complex communicationThis requires a good level of cognitive foundation skills in the population



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P r o g r a m m e f




How the demand for skills has changedEconomy-wide measures of routine and non-routine task input (US)

40

45

50

55

60

65

1960 1970 1980 1990 2002

Routine manual

Nonroutine manual

Routine cognitive

Nonroutine analytic

Nonroutine interacti

(Levy and Murnane)

M e a n t a s k i n p u t a s

p e r c e n t i l e s o f

t h e

1 9 6 0 t a s k d i s t r i b u

t i o n

The dilemma for education and training:The skills that are easiest to teach andtest are also the ones that are easiest todigitise, automate and outsource



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P I A A C

O E C D

P r o g r a m m e f




Individuals with low levels of literacy areeconomically disadvantaged

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

0 1 2 3 4

In lowest two quintiles

of personal income

Unemployed

Received social

assistance in last year

Did not receiveinvestment income in last

year

Number of foundation skills(prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy, problem solving)

in which adults show low performance

Odds ratios showing the likelihood of adults with low levels of foundation skills (Levels 1 & 2)in multiple skill domains experiencing poor outcomes compared to those with higher levels of skills

Source: Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey, 2003-2007

Adjusted for education, parental education, age, gender and migration status



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P I A A C

O E C D

P r o g r a m m e f




Individuals with low levels of literacy aresocially disadvantaged

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

0 1 2 3 4

Has fair to poor

health

Does not participate

in community groups

or organizations

Number of foundation skills(prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy, problem solving)

in which adults show low performance

Odds ratios showing the likelihood of adults with low levels of foundation skills (Levels 1 & 2)

in multiple skill domains experiencing poor outcomes compared to those with higher levels of skills

Source: Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey, 2003-2007

Adjusted for education, parental education, age, gender and migration status



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P I A A C

O E C D




Summarizing the policy relevance of PIAAC

• Growing importance of human capital for economic and social

functioningSkill supply and skill demand subject to increased policy attention

Reliable & comparative information about skills of great value for improved policyanalysis

•

Focus on foundational skills that are broadly relevant to economicand social functioningBasic building blocks

Transversal in wide range of situations and contexts

• Policy relevant analyses based on PIAAC will seek toEstimate the level and distribution of foundation skills in the population (equity)

Estimate the match/mismatch between skill supply & skill demand

Assess (indirectly) the performance of education and training systems

Assess the capacity of the population to cope with ICTs

Gain insight into skill acquisition and use in multiple contexts over lifespan

Gain insight into how to foster skill development among adults

richard des jar dins. - measuring the skills of the adult population

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