Analyzing PIAAC
October 8, 2013, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its initial findings from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) – the most comprehensive and ambitious survey of adult (16-65) skills ever undertaken amongst OECD countries. The survey provides Canada – and the other 24 countries surveyed – a unique opportunity to not only measure skill levels, but examine how skills are used at work and the relationships between skills and socioeconomic outcomes. The survey results also allow for an examination how well education and training systems are succeeding in generating the skills measured in the survey and how public policy might improve their effectiveness.
PIAAC Resources
Essential Skills Ontario’s PIAAC: International Results Summary
OECD’s PIAAC Database
OECD’s Skills Outlook 2013: First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills
OECD’s Skilled for Life? Key Findings from the Survey of Adult SkillsStatistic Canada’s Skills in Canada: First Results from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)
For more information please visit http://skills.oecd.org/skillsoutlook.html
Essential Skills Ontario Initiatives
PIAAC: A Map of Cognitive Skills in Ontario
PIAAC in Ontario – An Analysis of Cognitive Skills in the Province, 2015
PIAAC in Ontario – A Spatial Index of Skills in Ontario
2014 Le Bulletin des compétences essentielles #4: Jeunes adultes dans le PEICA : De quoi aura l’air la répartition future des compétences?
2014 Essential Skills Bulletin #4: Young Adults in PIAAC: What will the Future Skills Distribution Look Like?
2014 Le Bulletin des compétences essentielles #3: Les compétences comptent-elles vraiment quand il s’agit d’emploi et de rémunération?
2014 Essential Skills Bulletin #3: Do Skills Actually Matter When it Comes to Employment and Earnings?
2014 Le Bulletin des compétences essentielles #2: Éducation et formation = amélioration des compétences?
2014 Essential Skills Bulletin #2: Do Education & Training Amount to Skills Gains?
2014 Le Bulletin des compétences essentielles #1: Un aperçu de PEICA
2014 Essential Skills Bulletin #1: An Overview of PIAAC
2013 PIAAC Essential Skills Bulletins
Further Reading
All OECD PIAAC Publications
FACTS
- Overall, Canadian adults (16-65) performed about average on the literacy assessment relative to other OECD countries.
- While a large portion of the Canadian population performed extremely well in the literacy domain, there is also a large portion of the population at the other end of the spectrum, with 17% scoring at level one or below.
- The Canadian population finished slightly below the OECD average in numeracy in terms of average score, scoring 265 as compared to OECD's 269.
- There is a 180 score point gap separating the highest and lowest performing respondents in numeracy, which is significantly higher than the OECD's average of 168.
- The results from the PS-TRE domain show that Canadians perform well on PS-TRE relative to other OECD countries, with 36% of the population scoring at the highest proficiency levels (2 & 3), compared to the OECD average of 34%.