PIAAC: Summary of First Results
Frank Weldon Policy Research Directorate
Strategic Policy and Research Branch
PIAAC — Showing Us the Way Forward Literacy Nova Scotia – November 22, 2013
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What is the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)?
Initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to assess skills of working-age adults across 24 countries, including most European Union countries, the United States and Australia. Nine other countries will participate in PIAAC in 2014 (See Annex A for a complete list).
PIAAC is:
Assessment of literacy, numeracy, and ability to solve problems in a technology-rich environment in a coherent and consistent way across countries.
Focusing on key cognitive and workplace skills required for successful participation in the economy and in society.
Providing sound basis for international benchmarking and analysis of youth and adult competencies.
Offering more complete and nuanced picture of the stock of human capital than has yet been available to policy makers.
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Participating countries
Round 1 in 2012: Australia, Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom (England and N. Ireland), United States.
Round 2 in 2015-2016: Chile, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Lithuania, New
Zealand, Singapore, Slovenia, Turkey.
A third round is currently being planned.
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Direct Assessment of numeracy skills
Direct Assessment of problem-solving
skills in technology rich Environments (PS-TRE)
Survey of skills used at work
Direct Assessment of reading components
Background Questionnaire (BQ)
PIAAC Direct Assessment of literacy skills
Main Elements of PIAAC
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PIAAC in Canada
Governance:
Multi-stakeholder partnership: ESDC; the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) representing all Provinces and Territories (P/T); CanNor; CIC; AANDC; PHAC and STC.
Structured to provide:
General population estimates at the national level (for both official languages), and for each of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories due to largest sample of all participating countries (approximately 27,000 respondents nationally, and 1,440 in Nova Scotia).
Allows for a deeper understanding of skills among Canada’s youth, Aboriginal peoples, immigrants, and official-language minority communities (OLMC).
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Canada is at the OECD average in Literacy…
Literacy – Performance of countries, provinces, and territories. PIAAC 2012
OECD average: 273
Above OECD average At OECD average Below OECD average
Country Score Country Score Country Score
Japan 296 PEI 278 Denmark 271
Finland 288 YUKON 277 Germany 270
Netherlands 284 BRITISH COLUMBIA 275 United States 270
Australia 280 Czech Republic 274 Austria 270
Sweden 279 MANITOBA 274 Cyprus 269
Norway 278 NOVA SCOTIA 274 QUEBEC 269
ALBERTA 278 Slovak Republic 274 NEW BRUNSWICK 268
Estonia 276 CANADA 274 Poland 267
ONTARIO 276 Korea 273 Ireland 267
Belgium 276 UK 273 NEWFOUNDLAND AND LAB. 265
SASKATCHEWAN 272 France 262
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES 253
Spain 252
Italy 251
NUNAVUT 219
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…and is below the OECD average in Numeracy.
Numeracy – Performance of countries, provinces, and territories. PIAAC 2012
OECD average: 269
Above OECD average At OECD average Below OECD average
Country Score Country Score Country Score
Japan 288 ALBERTA 269 ONTARIO 266
Finland 282 Australia 268 CANADA 266
Flanders (Belgium) 280 BRITISH COLUMBIA 266 QUEBEC 265
Netherlands 280 PEI 265 Cyprus 265
Sweden 279 YUKON 263 MANITOBA 264
Norway 278 Korea 263
Denmark 278 SASKATCHEWAN 263
Slovak Republic 276 NOVA SCOTIA 263
Czech Republic 276 England/N. Ireland (UK) 262
Austria 275 Poland 260
Estonia 273 NEW BRUNSWICK 256
Germany 272 Ireland 256
France 254
United States 253
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LAB. 252
Italy 247
Spain 246
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES 239
NUNAVUT 201
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Canada is above the OECD average in Problem Solving in a Technology-Rich Environment
Proportion of individuals at the various PS-TRE levels. Selected jurisdictions, PIAAC 2012
40
25
23
20
20
19
22
21
16
17
16
18
16
18
16
17
37
38
38
41
41
42
38
41
39
37
41
37
37
35
35
35
20
31
34
33
33
34
32
33
37
38
33
36
38
37
39
37
2
7
6
6
6
5
7
5
8
8
10
9
9
9
10
10
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Nunavut
Northwest Territories
Newfoundland and Labrador
New Brunswick
United States
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
Saskatchewan
OECD AVERAGE
Manitoba
Yukon
CANADA
Ontario
NOVA SCOTIA
British Columbia
Alberta
Below Level 1 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
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A relatively high proportion of Canadians took the computer-based assessment
Proportion of individuals taking the computer-based assessment. Selected jurisdictions, PIAAC 2012
3
1
1
3
1
2
1
2
4
2
2
2
3
3
2
2
16
9
9
5
7
7
6
4
5
5
4
6
8
2
4
4
8
6
5
6
10
6
5
8
4
6
5
5
2
8
6
6
25
12
10
12
7
9
9
7
6
6
7
6
4
5
5
3
49
72
74
75
76
77
79
80
80
81
82
82
82
83
84
86
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Nunavut
Newfoundland and Labrador
OECD AVERAGE
Manitoba
Northwest Territories
New Brunswick
Prince Edward Island
British Columbia
United States
CANADA
Ontario
Quebec
Yukon
Alberta
NOVA SCOTIA
Saskatchewan
percent
Non-respondents No computer experience Failed ICT core Opted out of the CBA Took CBA
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Canada is above the OECD average in Problem Solving in a Technology-Rich Environment
Proportion of individuals at the various PS-TRE levels and PS-TRE non-respondents. Selected jurisdictions, PIAAC 2012
51
24
28
23
20
21
18
15
24
25
18
19
18
16
20
17
20
19
16
15
16
15
18
18
12
13
13
15
13
15
13
14
18
28
27
31
33
33
31
35
29
28
34
30
30
30
28
29
10
23
24
26
26
27
27
28
28
29
27
29
31
31
31
31
1
5
4
5
5
4
6
5
6
6
8
7
8
8
8
9
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Nunavut
Northwest Territories
Newfoundland and Labrador
New Brunswick
United States
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
Saskatchewan
OECD AVERAGE
Manitoba
Yukon
CANADA
Ontario
NOVA SCOTIA
British Columbia
Alberta
PS-TRE non-respondents Below Level 1 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
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Results by socioeconomic characteristics
By age: Literacy and numeracy skills peak at age 25 to 34, and decline with older age groups. Canadian youth (16-24) perform below OECD average in literacy while 55-65 are above
the OECD average. Younger individuals are more proficient in PS-TRE than older ones, no major difference
between ages 16 to 44. By gender:
Men have higher numeracy skills than women, regardless of age; but there are almost no differences in literacy and PS-TRE.
By education: Higher education is associated with greater literacy, numeracy, and PS-TRE skills. Skills of individuals with post-secondary education (PSE) – below a bachelor’s degree
are similar to those with only a high school diploma. The impact of age on skills is partly offset by level of education.
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Results by socioeconomic characteristics
By labour force status: Skills (in the three domains) are higher for the employed population. Unemployed and inactive individuals have similar literacy and numeracy skills; whereas
PS-TRE skills of unemployed are similar to the one of the employed population. By occupation type:
Skilled occupations are associated with greater literacy, numeracy, and PS-TRE skills.
LITERACY Level 1
or below Level 2 Level 3
Level 4
or 5
Labour force status
Employed 14 31 40 16
Unemployed 20 37 34 9
Out of the labour force 26 35 31 8
Skill level (NOC) (**)
Management + A 6 22 45 27
B 14 31 42 13
C + D 21 38 33 7
Proportion of literacy proficiency levels by labour force status of the entire population, and by NOC skill level of those who are employed, PIAAC 2012
ESDC calculations, not presented in the pan-Canadian report.
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Results for subgroups of the population
Aboriginal populations: Lower literacy, numeracy and PS-TRE skills than the non-Aboriginal people; however
the gap varies across jurisdictions. Immigrants:
Lower proficiency in literacy, numeracy and PS-TRE than Canadian-born. Recent and established immigrants’ literacy, numeracy, and PS-TRE skills are similar. Compared to immigrants in other participating countries, immigrants in Canada score
among the highest in Literacy. Difference between non-immigrants and immigrants is smaller in Canada than the
OECD average. Official-language minority populations:
Tend not to perform as well as official-language majority populations (except for Anglophones in Quebec), but differences vary across provinces.
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A portrait of literacy and numeracy in 2003 and 2012
Literacy and Numeracy – Averages and proficiency levels of population aged 16 to 65 in IALSS and PIAAC, Canada, 2003 and 2012
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A portrait of literacy by age group in 2003 and 2012
1 2 5 5 10
3 2 3 5 6 8 7
9 11
16
11 9
11
15 17
26 22
27 28
32
33
29 28
33 37
46 45
40 40
33
42
40 41
34
32
19 24
19 16
10 12
20 17
13 8
288 293 282 277
258
276 285 280
268 260
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-65 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-65
IALSS PIAAC
Literacy — Averages and proficiency levels of population by age in IALSS and PIAAC, Canada, 2003 and 2012
below level 1 level 1 level 2 level 3 level 4/5 Mean
ESDC calculations, not presented in the pan-Canadian report.
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Changes vary considerably across countries
(non-significant differences in red)
Variation in mean proficiency scores
Literacy Numeracy
2003-2007 2012 Change 2003-2007 2012 Change
Australia 273.0 280.4 7.4 267.9 267.6 -0.2
Canada 280.1 273.5 -6.6 272.4 265.5 -7.0
Italy 225.6 250.5 24.9 231.0 247.1 16.2
Netherlands 280.5 284.0 3.5 287.2 280.3 -6.8
Norway 295.1 278.4 -16.7 285.6 278.3 -7.3
United States 268.2 269.8 1.6 262.1 252.8 -9.2
Variation in mean scores, individuals aged 16-65, countries with comparable information, IALSS (ALL) 2003-2007, and PIAAC 2012.
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Upcoming research projects using PIAAC with proposed timeline
Multiple research projects are already planned as joint products by the PIAAC partners in Canada: PIAAC In Focus
February, 2014: Skills in the North
April, 2014: Employment, Earnings, and Information Processing Skills
May, 2014: Skills, Education, and Aboriginal populations
PIAAC Thematic Reports
September, 2014: Education
November, 2014: Labour Market
December, 2014: Aboriginal Populations
January, 2015: Immigrants
March, 2015: Official-Language Minority Populations
June, 2015: Health and Social Outcomes