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