Exploring the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies U.S. National Supplement Findings on Young Adults, the Unemployed, and the Incarcerated

• In Event: What the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies Says About the Effects of Social Background on Adult Skills and Social Mobility

Abstract

Purpose
This paper will provide more in-depth analyses of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), based on additional data collected in 2014 for the National Supplement. There will be a focus on the skill levels of U.S. young adults, unemployed adults, and older adults, and also on how our incarcerated adult population compares to our national household population.

Perspectives
PIAAC is the most comprehensive international survey of adult skills ever undertaken. The survey assesses basic cognitive skills (literacy, numeracy, and digital problem-solving) and focuses on key workplace skills necessary for individuals to participate successfully in society and be able to compete in the 21st century global economy.

The U.S. PIAAC National Supplement household study, conducted from August 2013 through May 2014, was administered to a sample of 3,600 U.S. adults using the same procedures and instruments as the PIAAC 2012 Main Study. The supplemental household study specifically sampled the following subgroups: unemployed adults (ages 16–65), young adults (ages 16–34), and older adults (ages 66–74).

The Supplement also included a Prison Study. The prison sample, collected between February and June 2014, was composed of over 1,300 inmates (ages 16-74) incarcerated in about 100 state, federal, or private prisons, including an oversample of female prisons. The background questionnaire was modified to include questions regarding the respondents’ experiences and activities in prisons and their access to academic programs and other learning activities. The prison sample received the same cognitive assessment as the household sample.

Data Source & Methods
Data are from the 2014 PIAAC National Supplement household and prison studies as well as the 2012 PIAAC Main Study. Descriptive statistics will be used to show the literacy, numeracy, and digital problem-solving skill levels of young adults, unemployed adults, older adults, and incarcerated adults. Skill levels within these subgroups will also be examined by demographic characteristics including gender, educational attainment, race/ethnicity, nativity, and skills used at work and home.

Results/Conclusions
Results from the PIAAC Main Study show that the skill level of young adults and unemployed adults in the U.S. is below that of their international peers. The National Supplement allows for more reliable and detailed analyses and allows us to learn more about the skill level of the oversampled subgroups, by examining skills by demographic and other characteristics within these subgroups. Analyses that could not be reported before, such as exploring the skills of subgroups within unemployed U.S. adults by educational attainment, age, and gender, will now be available. Data on the skill levels of older adults and incarcerated adults, who were previously not assessed in PIAAC, examined by characteristics such as education and training and health status, will also now be available.

Significance
With the increased sample size of over 8,600 adults between the Main Study and National Supplement, further in-depth analysis of unemployed and young adults can provide information on the impact of literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills on a range of economic and social outcomes; including education and training policies and practices.

Authors

• Stephen Provasnik, National Center for Education Statistics

• Holly Xie, National Center for Education Statistics