ERIC Number: ED676779
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Feb
Pages: 43
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
What Does PIAAC Tell Us about the Skills and Competencies of Immigrant Adults in the United States? Commissioned Paper
Jeanne Batalova; Michael Fix
Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies
The ability to understand, evaluate, and use written information (literacy), process and communicate mathematical information (numeracy), and access and use digital technology are foundational to full participation in today's global, knowledge-based societies. This paper employs the 2012 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) that directly assessed the cognitive skills of adults ages 16 to 65 in 24 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, including the United States. This report analyzes the U.S. data on English literacy and numeracy among U.S. immigrant adults and explores how their cognitive skills--skills that are tested in English--are related to key immigrant integration outcomes such as employment, income, access to training, and health. Overall, the PIAAC results indicate that U.S. adults fared worse than most of their counterparts across the participating countries in the tested areas of proficiency (i.e., literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments). The results are significant because research finds that literacy and other cognitive skills are strong predictors of income, employment, education and health and because differences in skill levels are an important source of widening income inequality.
Descriptors: Adults, Immigrants, Literacy, Numeracy, Technological Literacy, Problem Solving, Predictor Variables, Cognitive Ability, Employment Level, Income, Educational Attainment, Health, Individual Characteristics, Language Usage, Language Skills, English (Second Language)
Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies. Available from: American Institutes for Research. 1400 Crystal Drive 10th Floor, Arlington, VA 22202. Tel: 202-403-5000; Fax: 202-403-5001; Web site: https://www.air.org/project/program-international-assessment-adult-competencies-piaac
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Authoring Institution: Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) at American Institutes for Research (AIR); Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC); American Community Survey; Current Population Survey
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Department of Education Funded: Yes
Author Affiliations: N/A


