Internationally, adult skills in literacy, numeracy and problem-solving have stagnated or even declined, according to the OECD’s Adult Skills Study 2023. The situation is all the more serious as these skills are essential in the age of technology we are in, but not only. These skills are extremely useful to us including in social and political life.
Next year, Romania will join the “Pisa for adults” program. Archive
What is the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies
The Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competences (PIAAC) is organized every ten years by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). PIAAC is a study that assesses existing skills in the labor market among the adult population. This test assesses adults’ ability to read, calculate and solve problems.
The program has so far had two modules. In the first cycle, there were three rounds of data collection, in the period 2011-2018. In 2018, the second module of the survey began, with the results recently published. What is the purpose of this testing? The collected data, experts say, is of real help for the future economic development of the participating countries.
The research analyzed the results of 160,000 participants from 31 countries. These results are reflected in scores on a scale from 0 to 500 points in the three areas – literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving, writes edupedu.ro.
PISA for adults, disappointing results compared to those recorded 10 years ago
The analysis starts from the fact that adults with increased skills also have greater chances of employment, of obtaining satisfaction in life, of more active involvement in public and political life. But according to the study, there is a stagnation and even a decline in the level of reading skills compared to the situation a decade ago: compared to the previous study, only Finland and Denmark recorded significant improvements in literacy, among all countries participating in both studies. And two Central and Eastern European countries — Lithuania and Poland — are among those with the biggest drop in scores compared to the 2012 study.
In terms of numeracy, the situation remained unchanged in 12 countries, but worsened in seven. The countries with the best results in all three areas of the assessment are Finland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. On the other hand, with the exception of Estonia and the Czech Republic, all other participating Central and Eastern European countries scored below the international average in all three domains – literacy (reading), numeracy and adaptive problem-solving skills. OECD representatives specified that globally one fifth of all participants achieved poor performance, equivalent to functional illiteracy.
PIAAC tests critical thinking
Although it was invited, Romania has not yet participated in this testing. Only starting next year will we be among the participants. “It’s great that it happens because we need to get relevant data by connecting to relevant measurement sources. In this case, the ability of adults to think critically, to understand, to interpret information is essential”, Marian Staș, an expert in education, told “Adevărul”. However, the specialist wonders what we will do after we get the results. “Because, so far, nothing has happened in the context of the PISA experiences. All this catastrophic series of results, which show, in fact, the bankruptcy of the current public education system, had no effect.”
These tests are designed to check how well adults think. The current political context is only one of the situations in which we can find ourselves and which require us to think, to judge, to interpret, to filter information, to make connections, to come up with arguments, to ask ourselves questions. “In a word, they ask us to use our brains. Let us not forget that the sleep of reason gives birth to monsters. How do we practice reason? Thinking Critically”, continued Marian Staș.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity will handle the organization of PIAAC in Romania. The authorities will designate a national center to be responsible for the implementation of the PIAAC. Currently, more than 40 countries and territories participate in this international assessment.
