The Program for the International
Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is a cyclical, large-scale
study of adult skills and life experiences focusing on education
and employment, designed internationally to assess adults in
different countries over a broad range of abilities, from simple
reading to complex problem-solving skills, and to collect
information on individuals’ skill use and background. In the United
States, PIAAC is conducted by the National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES). PIAAC defines four core competency domains of
adult cognitive skills seen as key to facilitating the social and
economic participation of adults in advanced economies: literacy,
reading components, numeracy, and problem solving in
technology-rich environments. PIAAC also surveys adults on their
education background, work history, the skills they use on the job
and at home, their civic engagement, and sense of their health and
well-being. The results are used to compare participating countries
on the skills capacities of their workforce-aged adults and to
learn more about relationships between educational background,
employment, and other outcomes. PIAAC is coordinated by the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and
developed by participating countries with the support of the OECD.
U.S. participated in the PIAAC Main Study data collection in 2012,
conducted a national supplement in 2014, and in this submission
requests to conduct the PIAAC 2017 National Supplement data
collection from February to September 2017 with a nationally
representative sample of 3,800 adults ages 16-74, in a new sample
of 80 primary sampling units (PSUs).
US Code:
20
USC 9543 Name of Law: Education Sciences Reform Act
This request is a
reinstatement, with change, of a previously approved collection,
and as such it shows an increase in burden. The burden is actually
lower than for the PIAAC 2014 National Supplement because fewer
households are being screened to obtain the target number of
completed cases, largely because in PIAAC 2017 no subpopulations
are being oversampled.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.