International Study of Adult Skills and Learning (ISASL) [Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Cycle II] 2022 Field Test
ICR 201910-1850-004
OMB: 1850-0870
Federal Form Document
⚠️ Notice: This information collection may be outdated. More recent filings for OMB 1850-0870 can be found here:
International Study of Adult
Skills and Learning (ISASL) [Program for the International
Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Cycle II] 2022 Field
Test
Reinstatement with change of a previously approved collection
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. PIAAC is an international study designed 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. PIAAC is
coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) and developed by participating countries with
the support of the OECD. In the United States, the National Center
for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of
Education (ED) conducts PIAAC. The U.S. participated in the PIAAC
Main Study data collection in 2012 and conducted national
supplement data collections in 2014 and 2017. All three of these
collections are part of PIAAC Cycle I. A new PIAAC cycle is to be
conducted every 10 years, and PIAAC Cycle II Main Study data
collection will be conducted from August 2021 through March 2022.
In preparation for the main study collection, PIAAC Cycle II will
begin with a Field Test in 2020, in which 34 countries are expected
to participate with the primary goal of evaluating newly developed
assessment and questionnaire items and to test the PIAAC 2022
planned operations. PIAAC 2022 defines four core competency domains
of adult cognitive skills that are seen as key to facilitating the
social and economic participation of adults in advanced economies:
(1) literacy, (2) numeracy, (3) reading and numeracy components,
and (4) adaptive problem solving. The U.S. will administer all four
domains of the PIAAC 2022 assessment to a nationally representative
sample of adults, along with a background questionnaire with
questions about 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 the skills capacities of the workforce-aged adults in
participating countries, and to learn more about relationships
between educational background, employment, and other outcomes. In
addition, in PIAAC 2022, a set of financial literacy questions will
be included in the background questionnaire. As in Cycle I, a
user-friendly name for PIAAC Cycle II was created – the
International Study of Adult Skills and Learning (ISASL) – to
represent the program to the public, and will be used on all
public-facing materials and reports. As this international program
is well-known within the federal and education research
communities, we continue to use "PIAAC" in all internal and OMB
clearance materials and communications, and use the “PIAAC” name
throughout this submission; however all recruitment and
communication materials refer to the study as ISASL. This request
is to conduct the PIAAC Cycle II Field Test in April-June
2020.
US Code:
20
USC 9543 Name of Law: Education Sciences Reform Act
This submission is a
reinstatement of the PIAAC study and as such it represents an
increase in burden. In comparison to the now discontinued last
approval for PIAAC, this would be an apparent decrease in burden
time due to the fact that the last approval was for PIAAC 2017
National Supplement data collection while this request is to
conduct a field test for PIAAC 2022.
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.