Previous research focused on individuals' background, contexts and cognitive performance in education, work, and life. Given the increasing number of people living alone temporarily, the question arises whether the frequent use of skills, including social skills, relates to individuals' later positively self-evaluated skills and social lives.…

This article investigates regional disparities in Romanian adults' numeracy and literacy skills. We analyse a novel data set that combines the assessment of numeracy and literacy competencies of the adult population in Romania with information about regional economic conditions and educational administrative data. Using a background questionnaire…

Adults with low numeracy skills often start adult foundational education services or work with individual tutors. Using U.S. PIAAC 2012/2014/2017 data, this paper examines the characteristics, educational backgrounds, and numeracy proficiency of adult learners in adult foundational education, along with use of numeracy skills at home and how…

This Data Point summarizes trends in adult literacy and numeracy skills since the 1990s for the United States and for those countries that participated with the United States in all three international adult literacy studies over the past three decades: Canada, Hungary, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Results in this Data Point…

The Survey of Adult Skills is a product of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) led by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Survey of Adult Skills aims to measure the skills needed by adults to participate in society and for economies to prosper. The 2023 survey assessed…

Recent economic diversifications of Kazakhstan from over-reliance on the extraction of natural resources are mainly based on increasing the quality of human capital by building a knowledge-based economy as an instrument for long-term sustainable development. In this regard, the paper explores the level of cognitive skills of the adult population…

This paper examines the prevalence of incomplete educational qualifications and consider the importance of both background characteristics and numeracy skills as predictors of non-completion. The paper analyzes data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to address the following research questions:…

This study uses Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) data to examine latent profiles of engagement in reading, numeracy, writing, and computer skills-use for U.S. adults with low literacy skills. Additionally, we examine how these profiles relate to overall literacy performance and demographic heterogeneity.…

A sizeable proportion of adults has learning disabilities (LD); along with having LD, incidence of other disabilities and health conditions is a concern. Adults with LD face educational and employment challenges as well. Little is known about their skills in numeracy and digital literacy and how they use those skills, whether in the workplace or…

The OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) represents a comprehensive international comparative assessment of the information processing skills of adults vital for the full participation in social and economic life in the 21st century. PIAAC is now in its second cycle and continues a series of international…

Using the data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), this Data Point summarizes the number of U.S. adults with low levels of numeracy and describes how they differ by nativity status and race/ethnicity. [Standard error tables are available at https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020025 in…

The Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is a multicycle international survey of adult skills and competencies sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The survey examines a range of basic skills in the information age and assesses these adult skills consistently across…

The Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is a multicycle survey of adult skills and competencies sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The survey examines a range of basic skills in the information age and assesses these adult skills consistently across participating…

Historically, numeracy has tended to be forgotten and overlooked in adult education, especially compared to literacy. Yet evidence exists to show that numeracy should be made a priority, and that building the foundational numeracy skills of young people and adults is vital for their well-being in work and life in the 21st century. In the past…

International large-scale assessments like the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competences (PIAAC) assess literacy and numeracy proficiency as abstract competences, assuming they are cognitive skills and therefore objectively and universally measurable. However, research into how people's lives are affected by notions of…