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It is no exaggeration to use the word “revolution” when talking about how our lives have changed over the past few decades. Today we rely on information and communication technologies and devices that hadn’t even been imagined in 1980. The way we live and work has changed profoundly – and so has the set of skills we need to participate fully in and benefit from our hyper-connected societies and increasingly knowledge-based economies.
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This companion volume to the first OECD Skills Outlook (OECD, 2013) offers an overview of the “what” and “how” of the Survey of Adult Skills, a product of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, or PIAAC. Its primary objective is to help readers to understand and interpret the results from the survey. To this end, it explains, in a non-technical way, the methodologies underpinning the design of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and operational aspects of the survey, such as sampling, data collection and response rates, and how results are reported. A more detailed and technically oriented presentation of the survey, the methodologies used, and the quality of the data output can be found in the Technical Report of the Survey of Adult Skills (OECD, 2013, forthcoming).
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Foreword and Acknowledgements Reader’s Guide Introduction Chapter 1: What the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) measures Chapter 2: The background questionnaire Chapter 3: The methodology of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and the quality of data Chapter 4: Reporting the results Chapter 5: Relationship of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) to other international skills surveys Chapter 6: The relationship between the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Chapter 7: The Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and “key competencies” Chapter 8: The Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and the measurement of human capital Annex A: The relationship between the level descriptors used in the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and those used in IALS and ALL Annex B: Content of background questionnaires Annex C: Project participants
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This chapter describes the questionnaire that is part of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). The questionnaire collects information on the basic demographic characteristics of respondents; educational attainment and participation; labour force status and employment; social outcomes; the use of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills at work and in everyday life; and the use of a range of other skills at work.
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This chapter examines the relationship between the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and previous international skills surveys, notably the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL). It also discusses the differences and similarities between the Survey of Adult Skills and the Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Programme (LAMP) of UNESCO and the STEP Measurement Study, conducted by the World Bank.
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This chapter explains how the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) are related. Although there are similarities between the two in how skills are defined, there are significant differences between the two assessments, including the target populations and the measures used to assess skills.
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This chapter briefly discusses the concept of “human capital” and examines the extent to which the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) assesses some of its components. It also compares the strengths and weaknesses of using direct measures of skills, such as those afforded by the Survey of Adult Skills, with those of using educational attainment to assess human capital.
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