Written by Torhild Slåtto for NLL (Nordic Network for Lifelong Learning)

A huge amount of data on the level of knowledge among adults is available in the PIAAC2 survey. The main results can be summarized in four lines, but there is much, much more to be found in the results of large-scale interviews with 4,000 respondents (Norway) aged 16 to 65.

- “This is where PIAAC2 begins,” says Hanne Størset, Senior Advisor at the Norwegian Agency for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir).

Hanne Størset has followed PIAAC and similar surveys in the past (ALL and IALS). She is keen that PIAAC2, which is the most comprehensive survey of adult skills ever conducted in 31 countries, will be used for research and further for policy making and measures, not least for increased inclusion and restructuring in the labor market.

- “This is when PIAAC2 begins,” says Hanne Størset in HK-dir. Photo: Utdanningsforskning.no

Stable high level in reading and arithmetic

The results for Norway are summarized in the report from Statistics Norway (SSB) (parallel to Statistics Denmark): Adults in Norway have good skills in reading comprehension, numeracy and adaptive problem solving compared to 30 other participating countries. Along with Finland, Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands, Norway has one of the highest average proficiency levels among adults in the three areas surveyed. Norway has a stable high level in reading literacy and an improvement in numeracy since 2012.

Still many with weak skills

Statistics Norway goes on to say about the other end of the scale: 15 percent of adults have weak reading comprehension and can only read simple texts, while 20 percent have skills at the highest level. 13 percent have weak numeracy skills and 22 percent have very good numeracy skills. In both reading and numeracy, the proportion with weak skills has remained stable, while the proportion with very good skills has increased since 2012.

Questions and tasks adapted to Norwegian

- Statistics Norway (SSB) has been responsible for the national implementation of the PIAAC survey in Norway and has had the role of national project manager and operator responsible for data collection. “Both the questionnaire and the tasks were developed by the consortium, while SSB has translated and adapted all questions and tasks to Norwegian,” says Anna-Lena Keute, Senior Advisor at SSB, who has played a key role in the work with PIAAC2.

- “We see that women have become better at both reading and math,” says Anna-Lena Keute, who has spent a lot of time studying PIAAC2. She has written the PIAAC2 report for Norway together with Maja Kalcic. Photo: SSB

Keute is co-author of the results report Adults' skills in reading comprehension, numeracy and adaptive problem solving.

Problem solving in everyday life

PIAAC2 also maps a new skill area, adaptive problem solving. To put it simply, adaptive problem solving is solving a problem in everyday life using different kinds of information. In PIAAC, this is tested with information from digital media, such as finding the fastest route between different destinations on a map (lower level test). Or drawing conclusions in a comparison of completely different texts (higher level test) Definition of adaptive problem solving used in PIAAC: “The ability to achieve one's goals in a dynamic situation where a solution is not immediately available.”

Interviews with visitors

PIAAC2 has done a thorough job. To ensure good and solid results, the interviews were conducted face-to-face. Respondents were selected directly from the national population register. On average, the interviews took just over two hours. Respondents answered a very comprehensive questionnaire and solved a series of reading and number comprehension and problem-solving tasks. The tasks were completed on tablets with guidance from the interviewer.

Young people “roll”

The PISA surveys of school children's skills have been a source of concern for schools across Norway for several years. In some cases, the results have been weaker than in other Nordic countries. Now PIAAC2 shows that young people are doing well and the youngest age group has a greater improvement in reading comprehension in Norway than in the other Nordic countries. How is this related?

- “These are different studies and different situations. PISA is conducted in the classroom, while PIAAC involves individual interviews. This may play a role,” says Hanne Størset.

She also points out that it's young people aged 20-24 and 25-29 who show the highest proficiency levels in all areas. “This is the age when you start an education and therefore read a lot. This is probably also the age when you find the most frequent app users when it comes to searching for information and solving problems of all kinds in everyday life.

Women have improved their skills

We ask Anna-Lena Keute what she sees as a clear development compared to PIAAC1?

- “When we compare to PIAAC1, the gender differences are worth highlighting. While women's reading skills have improved, men's reading skills have remained stable. The gender gap in reading comprehension was in the men's favor in 2012, but has now turned in the women's favor. We can see that women have improved their skills in both reading comprehension and numeracy. Part of the reason for this change may be that the education gap between women and men has widened in recent years. In 2012, 33 percent of women over the age of 16 had a university or college education compared to 27 percent of men. In 2022, 42 and 32 percent respectively had this level of education,” says Anna-Lena Keute.

Good learning in the workplace

One of the themes in PIAAC2 is work and working conditions. Questions are asked about work tasks, the extent to which you receive training and whether you participate in courses. The figures show that many people learn a lot through work. Norway has had a good labor market with a high employment rate and many migrant workers. Learning on the job pulls results up, while migrant workers will often pull results down due to a lack of Norwegian language skills. They may have good skills, but problems understanding survey questions and tasks can lead to weak results.

Courses in reading, math and digital skills

When it comes to workplace learning, measures were put in place following one of the previous surveys before PIAAC. It was clear that many people had difficulty expressing themselves in writing, especially when it came to digital communication. Therefore, a support scheme was established, which is now called Skills Plus. Since 2006, companies have been able to apply for funding to organize basic skills courses.

In a brand new press release from the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, it appears that this year 300 companies will receive grants totaling DKK 87 million to hold courses in basic skills.

The target group for the scheme is employees with little formal education. The aim is to strengthen adults' basic skills in reading, writing, arithmetic and digital skills as well as in Norwegian and Sami, according to the press release from the ministry.

Restructuring requires expertise

- “The ability to build new expertise is critical to everything we do today and everything we will do tomorrow. To succeed in the transformation required for the future, we need to invest in people and give them the opportunity to learn throughout their lives. Now even more people will get the refresher training they need to continue contributing to the labor market,” says Sigrun Aasland, Minister for Research and Higher Education, in connection with the Skills Plus award.

PIAAC provides useful insights

What do you see as the benefits of such a comprehensive survey and for whom?

- “PIAAC is a large, international survey and it provides an opportunity to look at the skill levels of many groups in the population. It gives decision makers good insight into which groups have weak skills and need to increase their skills. The study shows international trends in how skills have developed over time, showing, for example, that reading skills are declining in many countries, while many countries have better numeracy skills. This, as well as the ability to analyze how skills change throughout life, is also important information for policy makers and for us as adults,” says Anna-Lena Keute.

She also points to the great opportunities that this extensive data material provides for research.

- “The study provides opportunities for researchers to link the data with register information for many years to come and to study the links between skills and, for example, labor market outcomes,” Keute adds.

Research to find the way forward

Hanne Størset is keen for the PIAAC2 results to be used in the political decision-making process to develop measures to increase skills and competences.

- "The way forward now lies through research into the results," she says.

A few weeks ago, HK-dir organised a seminar for researchers and other stakeholders who want to use data from the PIAAC2 survey. In addition, HK-dir has announced a call for research funding with the aim of using PIAAC data in research projects, precisely to obtain a knowledge base for further developing skills policy. HK-dir expects applicants to propose relevant research questions.

- "It has otherwise been a great advantage for Norway that for many years we have had a state institution that has worked specifically with skills development," says Hanne Størset.

Today, HK-dir has this responsibility. The former Skills Norway was merged with other institutions to form the current HK-dir a few years ago. PIAAC2 is especially important for those who work with working life and competencies, but also for those who work with analysis and the knowledge base.