International Comparisons of Adult Literacy and Numeracy

A new NCES Data Point report, International Comparisons of Adult Literacy and Numeracy Skills Over Time, summarizes how the literacy skills of adults in the United States, Canada, Hungary, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, and New Zealand have changed between 1994-98, 2003-08, and 2012-17, and how numeracy skills in these countries have changed between 2003-08 and 2012-17.  Key findings include the following:  Average literacy scores for U.S. adults declined from 273 in 1994 to 268 in 2003 and then increased to 272 in 2012/14. A similar pattern was also observed in the Netherlands and Italy, while scores in Canada, Hungary, Norway, and New Zealand showed different patterns. The average numeracy score for U.S. adults declined from 262 in 2003 to 257 in 2012/2014. A similar decline was observed in Canada, Hungary, the Netherlands and Norway, while scores in Italy and New Zealand showed different patterns.  This report uses data from three international adult literacy studies administered to adults (ages 16-65) in households: the 1994-98 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), the 2003-08 Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (ALL), and the 2012-17 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). PIAAC was designed to be comparable with IALS and ALL, using enough of the same items to allow for the measurement of trends in adult skills.