Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies

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The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is a multi-cycle international program of assessment of adult skills and competencies initiated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It aims to collect the information of residents from several countries, including Canada.

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All (78) (30 to 40 of 78 results)

  • Articles and reports: 75-006-X201400114094
    Description:

    This article examines the share of adults aged 25 to 65 with a university degree who have lower literacy skills, lower numeracy skills, or both, and the factors most likely to be associated with lower literacy or numeracy skills among university graduates. In this article, individuals with lower literacy and lower numeracy are defined as those who scored at level 2 or below (out of 5 levels) in tests administered to survey respondents who participated in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC).

    Release date: 2014-11-04

  • Public use microdata: 89M0014X
    Description:

    The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) was a collaborative effort by twenty governments and three intergovernmental organizations. The countries of Australia, Belgium/Flanders, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland (French, German and Italian), United Kingdom, United States, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Norway, and Slovenia participated in the IALS.

    The Canadian IALS survey had a number of objectives. These were: a) to provide an updated profile of adult literacy abilities for Canada for comparison to that provided by the 1989 Survey of Literacy Skills Used in Daily Activities (LSUDA); b) to provide sufficiently large numbers of Franco-Ontarians, seniors, social assistance recipients, unemployment insurance recipients and out-of-school youth to profile their skill levels; c) to shed light on the relationship between performance, educational attainment, labour market participation and employment for those at certain literacy levels; and d) to compare Canadian literacy levels with those in other countries.

    Release date: 2013-11-14

  • Public use microdata: 89M0022X
    Description:

    This product, offered on CD-ROM, contains the Canadian public microdata for the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS). IALSS is the Canadian component of the Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (ALL).

    The Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) is a large-scale co-operative effort undertaken in 2003 by governments, national statistics agencies, research institutions and multi-lateral agencies. The ALL study builds on the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), the world's first internationally comparative survey of adult skills undertaken in three rounds of data collection between 1994 and 1998.

    The foundation skills measured in the ALL survey include prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy, and problem solving. Additional skills assessed indirectly include familiarity with and use of information and communication technologies.

    The development and management of the study were co-ordinated by Statistics Canada and the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in collaboration with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the United States Department of Education, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC) and the Institute for Statistics (UIS) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

    Release date: 2013-11-14

  • Public use microdata: 89-555-X2013002
    Description:

    The public use microdata file (PUMF) from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) provides data on three skills that are essential to processing information: literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving in technology-rich environments (referred to as PS-TRE). Data are based on interviews with approximately 27,000 respondents, which allows for reliable estimation at the national, provincial and territorial level.

    The file provides information about the literacy, numeracy and PS-TRE skills for the Canadian population aged 16 to 65. It provides results for Canada as a whole, as well as for all the provinces and territories. In addition, it provides skills proficiency information and a range of socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, level of education) across the entire Canadian population. It also provides information on the literacy, numeracy and PS-TRE skills of Aboriginal populations, immigrants, and official-language minority communities.

    Release date: 2013-10-18

  • Journals and periodicals: 89-555-X
    Description:

    The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), an initiative of OECD, provides internationally comparable measures of three skills that are essential to processing information: literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving in technology-rich environments (referred to as PS-TRE). Canada is one of 24 countries and sub-national regions participating in this initiative. This study aims to provide a picture of the competencies of the Canadian population aged 16 to 65 in all three skill domains.

    Release date: 2013-10-18

  • Articles and reports: 89-555-X2013001
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This report presents the first Canadian results of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), an initiative of OECD. PIAAC provides internationally comparable measures of three skills that are essential to processing information: literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving in technology-rich environments (referred to as PS-TRE).

    Canada is one of 24 countries and sub-national regions participating in this initiative. A sample of over 27,000 respondents was collected and allows reliable estimation at the national, provincial and territorial level.

    The report provides information about the literacy, numeracy and PS-TRE skills for the Canadian population aged 16 to 65. It provides results for Canada as a whole, as well as for all the provinces and territories. In addition, it looks at the relationships between skills proficiency and a range of socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, level of education) across the entire Canadian population. It also reports on first results on the literacy, numeracy and PS-TRE skills of Aboriginal populations, immigrants, and official-language minority communities.

    Release date: 2013-10-08

  • Articles and reports: 81-004-X201200111651
    Description:

    The Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey assessed four foundation skills thought to be essential for social, professional and economic success - prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy and problem solving. Eleven countries, including Canada, participated in the most recent Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey, which was conducted in two main waves between 2002 and 2008.This article summarizes the key findings reported in that report, focusing on problem-solving skills, their definition, distribution in the labour force and related labour market outcomes.

    Release date: 2012-05-01

  • Journals and periodicals: 89-604-X
    Description:

    Literacy for Life, is the second report from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey. It presents additional results on the nature and magnitude of the literacy gaps faced by OECD countries and how these gaps have evolved over the medium term.

    It offers new insights into the factors that influence the formation of adult skills in various settings - at home and at work - for the eleven countries participating in the first and last round of data collection between 2003 and 2008. The study offers comparative evidence on the impact of various factors on the supply of skill. The study offers a special focus on numeracy skills and problem solving skills. It explores the relationships between numeracy and key socio-demographic factors as well as labour market outcomes and earnings.

    It highlights the importance of problem solving skills by defining this foundational skill and by exploring its determinants as well as its relative role in influencing important labour market outcomes.

    The report offers also an analysis of performance across multiple skill domains. It investigates the skill profiles of various population groups defined in terms of the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of those who score at levels deemed to be low in one or more skill domains and explores the resulting consequences.

    The report concludes by investigating the issue of skill mismatch in the labour market and its relationship to adult learning. The extent and distribution of mismatch between the day to day literacy related requirements of workers and the literacy skills they have obtained is an important issue that is being explored in this study.

    Release date: 2011-12-20

  • Articles and reports: 81-004-X200800510798
    Description: In a recent Statistics Canada study, Aneta Bonikowska, David Green and Craig Riddell (2008) use data from the Canadian component of the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS) to measure the literacy skills of immigrants and the Canadian-born and relate these to earnings outcomes. The analysis takes into account standard demographic information, along with information on where education was obtained and age of migration to further refine their analysis of immigrant/Canadian-born earnings differentials. This article summarizes the results of their research.
    Release date: 2009-03-04

  • Articles and reports: 56F0004M2008016
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    The Internet's rapid and profound entry into our lives quite understandably makes people wonder how, both individually and collectively, we have been affected by it. When major shifts in technology use occur, utopian and dystopian views of their impact on society often abound, reflecting their disruptiveness and people's concerns. Given its complex uses, the Internet, both as a technology and as an environment, has had both beneficial and deleterious effects. Above all, though, it has had transformative effects.

    Are Canadians becoming more isolated, more reclusive and less integrated in their communities as they use the Internet? Or, are they becoming more participatory and more integrated in their communities? In addition, do these communities still resemble traditional communities, or are they becoming more like social networks than cohesive groups?

    To address these questions, this article organizes, analyzes and presents existing Canadian evidence. It uses survey results and research amassed by Statistics Canada and the Connected Lives project in Toronto to explore the role of the Internet in social engagement and the opportunities it represents for Canadians to be active citizens. It finds that Internet users are at least as socially engaged as non-users. They have large networks and frequent interactions with friends and family, although they tend to spend somewhat less in-person time and, of course, more time online. An appreciable number of Internet users are civically and politically engaged, using the Internet to find out about opportunities and make contact with others.

    Release date: 2008-12-04
Data (22)

Data (22) (0 to 10 of 22 results)

  • Table: 81-582-X
    Description: The Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) draws from a wide variety of data sources to provide information on the school-age population, elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, transitions, and labour market outcomes.

    PCEIP products include data tables, fact sheets, an interactive dashboard, a data explorer, and a handbook. They present indicators for all of Canada, the provinces, the territories, and include year over year comparisons.

    The PCEIP is an ongoing initiative of the Canadian Education Statistics Council, a partnership between Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada that provides a set of statistical measures on education systems in Canada.
    Release date: 2026-03-25

  • Table: 37-10-0259-01
    Geography: Canada, Province or territory
    Frequency: Occasional
    Description: Average scores and distribution of proficiency levels in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving, by age group and gender, population aged 16 to 65, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Canada and provinces, 2022.
    Release date: 2024-12-10

  • Table: 37-10-0260-01
    Geography: Canada, Province or territory
    Frequency: Occasional
    Description: Average scores in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving, by labour force status, age group and gender, population aged 16 to 65, Canada and provinces, 2022.
    Release date: 2024-12-10

  • Table: 37-10-0261-01
    Geography: Canada, Province or territory
    Frequency: Occasional
    Description: Average scores in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving, by highest level of education, age group and gender, population aged 16 to 65, Canada and provinces, 2022.
    Release date: 2024-12-10

  • Table: 37-10-0262-01
    Geography: Canada, Province or territory
    Frequency: Occasional
    Description: Average scores in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving, by occupation and gender, population aged 16 to 65, Canada and provinces, 2022.
    Release date: 2024-12-10

  • Public use microdata: 89M0016X
    Description: Governments and other stakeholders are increasingly interested in assessing the skills of their adult populations in order to monitor how well prepared they are for the challenges of the modern knowledge-based society. Adults are expected to use information in complex ways and to maintain and enhance their literacy skills to adapt to ever changing technologies. Literacy is important not only for personal development, but also for positive educational, social, and economic outcomes. Adult literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills encompass a continuum of learning that enables individuals to achieve their goals, develop their knowledge and potential, and participate fully in their communities and society as a whole.

    Canada has been participating in adult skills assessment surveys for several decades. The surveys are repeated every ten years, with the first in the series taking place in 1994. First there was the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), then the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS) in 2003 and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) cycles 1 and 2 in 2012 and 2022 respectively. Each of these surveys builds on the concepts of the previous surveys. Over the years, the framework has broadened the definition of literacy to adapt it to the information age, notably by including reading skills in digital environments.
    Release date: 2024-08-23

  • Table: 37-10-0047-01
    Geography: Canada, Province or territory
    Frequency: Occasional
    Description: Literacy, numeracy - Average scores and distribution of proficiency levels, by sex and age group, population aged 16-65, Canada, provinces and territories 2012.
    Release date: 2015-06-22

  • Table: 37-10-0047-02
    Geography: Canada, Province or territory
    Frequency: Occasional
    Description:

    Literacy, numeracy - Average scores, by sex and age group, population 16-65, Canada, provinces and territories, 2012.

    Release date: 2015-06-22

  • Table: 37-10-0048-01
    Geography: Canada, Province or territory
    Frequency: Occasional
    Description: Problem-solving in technology-rich environments (PS-TRE) - Distribution of non-respondents and proficiency levels, by sex and age group, population aged 16-65, Canada, provinces and territories 2012.
    Release date: 2015-06-22

  • Table: 37-10-0049-01
    Geography: Canada, Province or territory
    Frequency: Occasional
    Description: Literacy, numeracy - Average scores and distribution of proficiency levels, by labour force status, highest level of education and age group, population aged 16-65, Canada, provinces and territories 2012.
    Release date: 2015-06-22
Analysis (51)

Analysis (51) (0 to 10 of 51 results)

  • Journals and periodicals: 81-599-X
    Geography: Canada
    Description: The fact sheets in this series provide an "at-a-glance" overview of particular aspects of education in Canada and summarize key data trends in selected tables published as part of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP).

    The PCEIP mission is to publish a set of statistical measures on education systems in Canada for policy makers, practitioners and the general public to monitor the performance of education systems across jurisdictions and over time. PCEIP is a joint venture of Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC).

    Release date: 2025-10-24

  • Stats in brief: 11-001-X20243457822
    Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin
    Release date: 2024-12-10

  • Stats in brief: 11-001-X201929020844
    Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin
    Release date: 2019-10-17

  • Articles and reports: 75-006-X201600114655
    Description:

    Based on a self-reported measure of overqualification, this article examines the association between overqualification and skills among workers aged 25 to 64 with a university degree, using data from the 2012 Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). This article also examines the extent to which overqualified workers are dissatisfied with their jobs. Overqualified workers are defined in this study as university-educated workers who reported that they were in a job requiring no more than a high school education.

    Release date: 2016-09-14

  • Articles and reports: 89-503-X201500114640
    Description:

    Women have become increasingly well-educated, and today their share in the Canadian labour market is larger than ever. This chapter of Women in Canada examines women’s educational experiences, with a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics and computer science) education and skills. Topics include a profile of women’s education in Canada, the skills of young girls and women, field-of-study patterns at the postsecondary level, and labour market outcomes, including earnings.

    Release date: 2016-07-06

  • Stats in brief: 11-001-X201613914401
    Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin
    Release date: 2016-05-18

  • Articles and reports: 75-006-X201600114630
    Description:

    This article examines the literacy and numeracy skills of off reserve First Nations and Métis adults aged 25 to 65, focusing on the factors and labour market outcomes associated with higher skill levels. In this study, individuals in the higher range for literacy and numeracy are defined as those who scored level 3 or higher (out of 5 levels) in tests administered by the 2012 Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC).

    Release date: 2016-05-18

  • Stats in brief: 11-001-X201605513942
    Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin
    Release date: 2016-02-24

  • Stats in brief: 11-001-X201605413681
    Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin
    Release date: 2016-02-23

  • Articles and reports: 89-503-X201500114313
    Description:

    The chapter entitled "Women in Canada: First Nations, Métis and Inuit Women" explores the diverse circumstances and experiences of Aboriginal women in Canada. Overall, the chapter highlights demographic characteristics, families, housing, knowledge of Aboriginal languages, employment, income, education, and health. Where appropriate, comparisons have been made between the Aboriginal female population and the non-Aboriginal female population as well as the Aboriginal female population and Aboriginal male population. Wherever possible, information is provided for First Nations, Métis and Inuit women separately.

    Release date: 2016-02-23
Reference (4)

Reference (4) ((4 results))

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 89-648-X2015001
    Description:

    The Longitudinal and International Study of Adults (LISA) has the direct measures of skills from the Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) because the two surveys had coordinated collection. The direct measures of skills cover three domains: literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments. The skills measures are reflected in sets of 10 plausible values (PVs) that were created using a multiple imputation methodology. This paper demonstrates the proper use of the PVs. It also demonstrates that reliable estimates of skills can be produced using LISA and the results are similar to what would be obtained from the PIAAC data.

    Release date: 2015-04-22

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 89-552-M2005013
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This report documents key aspects of the development of the International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) - its theoretical roots, the domains selected for possible assessment, the approaches taken to assessment in each domain and the criteria that were employed to decide which domains were to be carried in the final design. As conceived, the ALL survey was meant to build on the success of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) assessments by extending the range of skills assessed and by improving the quality of the assessment methods employed. This report documents several successes including: · the development of a new framework and associated robust measures for problem solving · the development of a powerful numeracy framework and associated robust measures · the specification of frameworks for practical cognition, teamwork and information and communication technology literacy The report also provides insight into those domains where development failed to yield approaches to assessment of sufficient quality, insight that reminds us that scientific advance in this domain is hard won.

    Release date: 2005-03-24

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 89F0120X
    Description:

    Direct measures of skill attainment such as the International Adult Literacy Survey are used to assess the importance of educational outcome skills such as literacy in determining labour market outcomes such as earnings. Policy makers also use them to direct resources most efficiently. However, these skill measures are the product of complex statistical procedures. This paper examines the mathematical robustness of the International Adult Literacy Survey measures against other possibilities in estimating the impact of literacy on individual earnings.

    Release date: 2000-06-02

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 89F0094X
    Description:

    The Backgrounder on the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) describes the history of the survey and how literacy is measured.

    Release date: 1996-09-12