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13 Nov 2014
Blog Post

New Analysis Spotlights Employees' Basic Skills Gap

Daniel Sherman

According to new AIR analysis of an international survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a surprisingly large number of adults in the United States cannot apply reading or math skills to solve simple real life problems.

The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) covered 23 countries, measuring key skills. Five thousand adults, ages 16 to 65, were tested in the United States in 2011-12. Initial results were released in 2013. AIR’s new analysis shows:

  • 35 million (18 percent of adults) are in the lowest categories of literacy.

Example: They can read several brief paragraphs about the results of an election and determine the name of the winning candidate, but they can’t go to a website about a fundraising event and find the sponsor’s phone number.

  • 58 million (30 percent of adults) are in the lowest categories of math literacy (or numeracy).

Example: They can look at a photo of 35 candles in a box and say how many boxes would be needed to hold 105 candles, but they can’t figure out how much a salesman should be paid for mileage (miles x per mile rate) plus expenses.

  • 23 million employed adults have low literacy skills, and 36 million employed adults have low math skills.

New Analysis Spotlights Employees' Basic Skills Gap - Infographic Snapshot

Perhaps more troubling, about two-thirds of those with low skills have at least a high school education and most are American-born. That means they may not have a chance at needed adult education. The federally funded and state-administered adult education system can serve only about 2 million people a year. Budget constraints often limit training to those who lack a high school credential or English language proficiency.

With these new results from PIAAC in hand, educators, researchers and policymakers will do well to find out what accounts for the number of adults performing at low levels and determine how to improve their chances in a demanding jobs market.

Dan Sherman is a managing director at AIR. He specializes in statistical analysis of international datasets.

Related Projects

Project

Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)

The Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIACC) is a cyclical, large-scale, direct household assessment that compares the basic skills and competencies of adults around the world. It measures relationships between individuals’ backgrounds and cognitive skills in the areas of literacy, numeracy and problem-solving. AIR provides technical, analytical, and management support to PIAAC.

Related Work

18 Sep 2014
Report

blonde boy doing math on chalkboard_233x164.jpg

Boy doing math at chalkboard

International Benchmarking: State and National Education Performance Standards

What students are expected to learn in some states can vary greatly with what students are expected to learn in other states. This AIR study uses international benchmarking as a common metric to examine the variance in state performance standards, exposing a large gap in expectations between the states with the highest standards and the states with the lowest standards.
Topic: 
International Comparisons in Education

Further Reading

  • New Tool Maps Literacy and Numeracy Skills Across U.S. States and Counties
  • PIAAC Analysis for Change the Equation
  • National Assessment of Adult Literacy
  • NCES Data Point: Adult English Literacy in the United States
  • Do U.S. Adults Have the Skills Needed to Thrive in the 21st Century? Four PIAAC Studies by AIR
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Topic

Education
College and Career Readiness
International Comparisons in Education
Mathematics Education
Workforce

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