OECD Skills Studies Skills Matter Additional Results from the Survey of Adult Skills

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
Reader’s Guide
Executive summary
	Skills proficiency and demographics
	Skills use in everyday life and at work
	Proficiency and the labour market
Chapter 1. Overview
	What is the Survey of Adult Skills?
		Box 1.1 Key facts about PIAAC
		Box 1.2 Classifying countries by income level
	Proficiency in key information-processing skills
		Box 1.3 Reporting the results
		Figure 1.1 Snapshot of performance in literacy, numeracy and problem solving
	Proficiency and socio-demographic characteristics
		Figure 1.2 Differences in literacy proficiency, by educational attainment
		Box 1.4 PIAAC in the United States
	The use of skills at work and everyday life
	The outcomes of investment in skills
		Figure 1.3 Impact of education, numeracy proficiency and numeracy use at work on wages
		Figure 1.4 Impact of mismatches in qualifications, numeracy and fields-of-study mismatch on wages
	Summary
	Note
	References
	Annex 1.A1. Description of participation of the United States in PIAAC Cycle 1
		Round 1
		PIAAC National Supplement
		Round 3
	Annex 1.A2. Skills Towards Employment and Productivity (STEP) Survey
Chapter 2. Adults’ proficiency in key information-processing skills
	Box 2.1. A historical context for cross-national comparisons of adult proficiency
		Figure 2.1 Per capita gross domestic product, USD
		Figure 2.2 Share of low and highly-educated adults
	Reporting the results
		Box 2.2. The evolution of skills proficiency in the United States
			Figure 2.3 The evolution of literacy and numeracy proficiency, by age
			Figure 2.4 Age-proficiency profile in the United States
	Proficiency in literacy
		Box 2.3. Reading on a screen or on paper: Does it affect proficiency in literacy?
			Figure 2.5 Percentage of respondents taking different pathways in the Survey of Adult Skills
		Levels of literacy proficiency across countries and economies
			Table 2.1 Description of the literacy proficiency levels
			Figure 2.6 Literacy proficiency among adults
		Literacy-related non-response
		Distribution of proficiency scores across and within countries and economies
			Box 2.4. Comparing results across countries/economies and population subgroups
			Figure 2.7 Comparison of average literacy proficiency
			Figure 2.8 Distribution of literacy proficiency scores
	Proficiency in numeracy
		Levels of numeracy proficiency across countries and economies
			Table 2.2 Description of the numeracy proficiency levels
			Figure 2.9 Numeracy proficiency among adults
		Literacy-related non-response
		Distribution of proficiency scores across and within countries and economies
			Figure 2.10 Comparison of average numeracy proficiency
	Adults with low proficiency and the reading components assessment
		Figure 2.11 Distribution of numeracy proficiency scores
		Figure 2.12 The proportion of adults who are low performers
		Figure 2.13 Relationship between literacy proficiency and performance in reading components
		Figure 2.14 Performance in reading components across countries
	Proficiency in problem solving in technology-rich environments
		Levels of proficiency in problem solving in technology-rich environments across countries and economies
		The proportion of adults without basic information and communications technology skills
			Table 2.3 Description of the problem solving in technology-rich environments proficiency levels
			Figure 2.15 Proficiency in problem solving in technology-rich environments among adults
	Summarising performance across countries and economies
		Figure 2.16 Summary of proficiency in key information-processing skills
	Summary
	Notes
	References
Chapter 3. The socio-demographic distribution of key information-processing skills
	Figure 3.1 Socio-demographic differences in literacy proficiency
	Differences in skills proficiency related to educational attainment
		Proficiency in literacy and numeracy among low- and high-educated adults
			Figure 3.2 Differences in literacy proficiency, by educational attainment
		Proficiency in problem solving in technology-rich environments among low- and ­high-educated adults
		Skills and education among younger adults
			Figure 3.3 Problem-solving proficiency, by educational attainment
			Figure 3.4 Differences in literacy proficiency by educational attainment, young adults aged 16-24
	Differences in skills proficiency related to age
		Figure 3.5 Differences in literacy proficiency by educational attainment, young adults aged 20-24
		Figure 3.6 The relationship between skills proficiency and age
		Proficiency in literacy and numeracy among older and younger adults
			Figure 3.7 Age differences in literacy proficiency
		Proficiency in problem solving in technology-rich environments among older and younger adults
	Differences in skills proficiency related to gender
		Proficiency in literacy and numeracy among men and women
			Figure 3.8 Problem-solving proficiency among younger and older adults
			Figure 3.9 Gender differences in literacy and numeracy proficiency
			Figure 3.10 Gender gap in literacy and numeracy, by age
		Proficiency in problem solving in technology-rich environments among men and ­women
			Figure 3.11 Problem-solving proficiency among men and women
			Figure 3.12 Differences in literacy proficiency, by parents’ educational attainment
	Differences in skills proficiency related to socio-economic background
		Proficiency in literacy and numeracy among adults with high- and low-educated ­parents
	Summary
	Notes
	References
Chapter 4. Use of skills in everyday life and at work
	Measuring skills use in the workplace and in everyday life
		Table 4.1 Descriptive statistics on numeracy practices
		Box 4.1 Constructing indices of skills use and of engagement in numeracy practices
			Table 4.2 Indicators of skills use at work and in everyday life
	Levels of skills use in the workplace and in everyday life
		Figure 4.1 Engagement in numeracy practices in everyday life
		Figure 4.2 Engagement in numeracy practices at work
		The relationship between proficiency and use
		Figure 4.3 Engagement in numeracy practices in everyday life and numeracy score
		Figure 4.4 Engagement in numeracy practices at work and numeracy score
		Figure 4.5 Engagement in numeracy in everyday life
		Figure 4.6 Engagement in numeracy at work
	Numeracy practices at work and in everyday life: The relationship to demographic characteristics
		Gender
			Figure 4.7 Engagement in numeracy practices at work and in everyday life, by gender
		Age
			Figure 4.8 Engagement in numeracy practices at work and in everyday life, by age group
		Educational attainment
			Figure 4.9 Engagement in numeracy practices at work and in everyday life, by educational attainment
			Figure 4.10 Determinants of the intensity of engagement in numeracy practices
		Explaining other information-processing skills at work
			Figure 4.11 Explaining information-processing skills used at work
	Engagement in problem solving and social interaction tasks at work, and automation
		Figure 4.12 Engagement in problem-solving tasks at work
		Figure 4.13 Engagement in social interaction tasks at work
		Figure 4.14 Variance decomposition of the index of problem-solving tasks at work
		Figure 4.15 Variance decomposition of engagement in social interaction tasks at work
		Figure 4.16 Likelihood of automation or significant change to jobs
	Summary
	Notes
	References
Chapter 5. The outcomes of investments in skills
	Skills proficiency, labour-market status and wages
		Proficiency, education and employment
			Figure 5.1 Effect of education and numeracy proficiency on the likelihood of being employed
		Numeracy proficiency, education and wages
			Figure 5.2 Effect of education, numeracy proficiency and numeracy use at work on wages
		The relative contribution of education, proficiency and other factors to the variation in individual wages
			Figure 5.3 Contribution of education, literacy and numeracy to the variation of hourly wages
			Figure 5.4 Contribution of education, literacy and numeracy to the variation of hourly wages, by age group and gender
	Mismatches between workers’ skills and job requirements and the impact on wages
		Mismatches in the Survey of Adult Skills
			Box 5.1 Measuring mismatches in qualifications, skills and fields of study in the Survey of Adult Skills
			Figure 5.5 Mismatches in qualifications, numeracy and fields of study
		The effect of mismatches on wages
			Figure 5.6 Effect of mismatches in qualifications, numeracy and fields of study on wages
	Non-economic outcomes of information-processing skills
		Figure 5.7 Effect of numeracy proficiency on positive social outcomes
	Summary
	Note
	References
Annex A Skills Matter: Additional Results from the Survey of Adult Skills Tables of results