The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is an international large-scale survey run by the OECD that measures the key cognitive and workplace skills in over 40 countries. Professor Samuel Greiff and his team will be involved in the development of the survey’s framework and its items.
The PIACC assesses and compares adult competencies worldwide and helps countries to better understand how education and training can further improve adult skills. The results are used to develop new economic, education and social policies.
The survey focuses on numeracy, literacy, and adaptive problem solving as core indicators of human capital and international competitiveness. Professor Greiff will chair the international Expert Group on Adaptive Problem Solving. The group will shape the assessment, develop the theoretical underpinnings, and provide the scientific background to the reporting across all nations and work closely together with the Expert Groups on Literacy and Numeracy.
PIAAC compares the entire workforce in large international samples. Initiated in 2008, the second cycle of the multi-cycle survey takes place in 2021. At least 5,000 randomly selected persons in each participating country between the age of 16 and 65 are interviewed. The results give among others insights into the performance of national education and training systems, the extent of illiteracy and poor literacy, gaps between labour markets and education and training and links between key cognitive skills and demographics, educational background and health. All results are comparable and can be benchmarked against the national and international results.
If you want to learn more about adaptive problem solving, consult the OECD Education working paper: oecd-ilibrary.org/education/adaptive-problem-solving_90fde2f4-en