Transforming PIAAC results into action: On what to focus

The 2023 Survey of Adult Skills, the OECD’s International Assessment of Adult Competencies on literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills, paints a polarised picture between high- and low-performing countries. Data reveals a pressing need for policymakers to focus on lifelong and life-wide learning to ensure that education is more adaptive to evolving demands.

Great disparities in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem-solving proficiency exist among adults aged 16-65 years across the OECD countries surveyed for the 2023 Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), which was published in early December 2024.

Finland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden excelled in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem-solving proficiency, with significant proportions of their adult populations demonstrating advanced abilities.

However, on average across the 31 OECD countries surveyed 18 per cent of adults did not have the most basic levels of proficiency, according to the report.

Lifelong learning: Just one factor

“The same countries that are at the top of the list in proficiency are also at the top, or well above the OECD average, in participation in adult education and training such as Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, and Netherlands,” says Joonas Mannonen, Finland’s National Project Manager for the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC).

“Furthermore, adults who had participated in adult education had better skills on average than those who had not. This would certainly imply that investing in lifelong learning is important,” he says.

Mannonen is a leading researcher with the Finnish Institute for Educational Research at the University of Jyväskylä and part of the international community who has worked on PIAAC for the last seven years.

This would imply that investing in lifelong learning is important.

Yet, he is quick to emphasise that adult education is only one component and stresses that many other key factors such as initial education, parental education, and informal learning at work and in everyday life significantly contributed to the PIAAC results.

Wellbeing supports learning

According to the report, declines in literacy and numeracy proficiency were particularly evident among the least educated segments of the population. This led to a widening gap in skills proficiency between highly and low-educated adults in the majority of the participating countries and economies.

“Proficiency was positively associated with a wide range of positive life outcomes. Compared to adults with higher skill levels, low performers were less likely to be satisfied with their lives, to report that they have very good or excellent health, to experience high levels of political efficacy or to have high levels of trust in other people,” says Mannonen.

“They were also more likely to be unemployed or completely out of the labour force. Furthermore, they were more likely to have lower wages.”

“Nordic countries excelled both in skills and positive social outcomes. Wellbeing supports the development of skills and skills support wellbeing,” says Joonas Mannonen. In November, he presented the Nordic-Baltic PIAAC Network at a conference organized in Finland by the Nordic Network for Adult Learning. Photo: Kvs.

“In short: Having a sufficient skill level is clearly important for one’s wellbeing and participation in society,” says Mannonen.

“Both individuals and societies should invest in these skills because they have a wide range of benefits. Nordic countries excelled both in skills and positive social outcomes, which I think is no coincidence. Wellbeing supports the development of skills and skills support wellbeing.”

Varying skills in literacy and numeracy

Over the past decade, average literacy proficiency improved in only two countries: Denmark and Finland. It remained stable or declining in all other participating countries and economies.

Meanwhile, numeracy outcomes were more positive, with eight countries improving their scores, led by Finland and Singapore, according to the report. Literacy and numeracy proficiency fell, especially among the least educated.

Most of the countries and economies that experienced skill declines saw literacy and numeracy proficiency decrease across different age groups. Widespread educational expansion did not compensate for these trends, as proficiency among tertiary-educated graduates decreased or stagnated in most countries, according to PIAAC.

But higher educational qualifications did not necessarily translate into higher skills proficiency.

For example, Finnish high school graduates consistently outperformed adults with tertiary education in many participating countries, including Chile, Israel, and Lithuania. This may reflect systemic differences in the quality of education systems and the provision and organisation of education and lifelong education, according to PIAAC.

“These differences may involve when learning takes place (e.g. childhood, youth, or adulthood), where it occurs (e.g. formal, informal, and non-formal), how learning is facilitated (e.g. whether there are barriers to participation) and what is learned (e.g. skills, attitudes, and values),” concluded the report.

Take-aways for policymakers

“The results show that socio-economic background keeps playing a major role in differences in proficiency, even for adults. In most countries, the decrease in literacy and numeracy proficiency during the past decade was the strongest among adults with lower socio-economic backgrounds, further widening the gap,” says Mannonen.

“We know from other sources that children have considerable differences in skills already when starting school, and that early success tends to predict later outcomes. Therefore, it is important to invest in early childhood education to provide every child with a good start on their lifelong skill development journey.”

“Due to the wide social benefits of skills, it’s also important to invest in supporting low performers instead of neglecting them, regardless of how good your national average is,” says Mannonen.

Hindering polarisation and creating truly equal opportunities to develop skills is paramount.

He says that one concern is that in countries that fared well, policymakers may think, ‘Well, we’re doing great, there’s no need for changes to be made.’

“In fact, we need to continue working and evolving,” says Mannonen.

“Going forward, hindering polarisation and creating truly equal opportunities to develop skills is paramount. With the extensive PIAAC data available, we’ve only just scratched the surface with the opportunities and possibilities to go deeper into the findings, and for policymakers, decision-makers, practitioners, teachers, and educators to utilise the data to shape the future,” says Mannonen.

Read more: Link to study results

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