The study is called Piaac (Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competences) and measures reading skills, numeracy, and problem-solving abilities.
Just like the student study Pisa, it is the economic cooperation organization OECD that is responsible for Piaac internationally. For the Swedish part, SCB is responsible.
One of a kind
Piaac is unique, as it is the only international measurement of skills among adults. But today's Piaac report becomes doubly interesting. In addition to being able to compare different countries' results, it will also be possible to see how the competence level among Swedes has changed over ten years.
Already in 2012, the internet and communication technology were used extensively. But the technology has developed further, and the skills required have also changed. The questions have been adapted to how it looks today, says Lotta Larsson, SCB's project leader for Piaac.
When Piaac was conducted for the first time in 2012, it went really well. Sweden was above average in all three areas, namely reading, numeracy, and problem-solving. Only three other countries managed this: Finland, the Netherlands, and Norway.
Largest gap
But the Swedish result also showed large gaps. Sweden was among the countries with the largest score differences between low- and high-performing individuals. The differences are mainly due to education level and country of birth. Sweden then had one of the highest proportions of foreign-born individuals among the participating countries. SCB noted that newly arrived immigrants naturally have difficulty completing a test in Swedish, but that even people who have lived in Sweden for a long time can have language problems.
Against this background, there have also been signals that it may not go as well in the current Piaac. Researchers and experts have pointed out that the proportion of foreign-born individuals has increased significantly in Sweden since the first measurement, which would likely have a negative impact on the result. The news about how it went will come at 11 am, when both OECD's and SCB's reports are released.
In the Swedish part of Piaac 2023, 3,700 people have participated. They were born between 1957 and 2006.
After information letters, the people who agreed to participate were interviewed and tested during a two-hour home visit. This took place in 2022-2023.
The interview questions deal with, among other things, education and IT use.
Reading, numeracy, and problem-solving abilities are included in the test - abilities that are considered necessary in the labor market and in social life.
The tests are conducted on a tablet.
Source: SCB
In Piaac's sub-test in reading and numeracy, the results are divided into six levels:
Level 0 and 1: Insufficient skills
Level 2: Sufficient skills
Level 3: Good skills
Level 4 and 5: Very good skills
In the sub-test problem-solving, the results are sorted in a similar way, but in five levels: 0 to 4.
Source: IEA/SCB
