Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Cycle II 2022 Operational Field Test
Revision of a currently approved collection
No
Regular
03/17/2021
table that charts list comparision
Requested
Previously Approved
36 Months From Approved
12/31/2022
1,250
5,611
293
1,258
0
0
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 individualsâ 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 2022 through March 2023. In preparation for the main study collection, PIAAC Cycle II begins with a Field Test in Spring of 2021 in which 33 countries will participate with the goal of evaluating newly developed assessment and questionnaire items and to test the operations for the PIAAC 2023 Main Study (2022-2023). PIAAC 2022 defines four core competency domains of adult cognitive skills deemed 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, financial literacy 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. The request to conduct the PIAAC Cycle II Field Test in April-June 2020 was approved by OMB in December 2019 (OMB# 1850-0870 v.7-8). As described in the previously approved amendment in September 2020 (OMB# 1850-0870 v.9), the 2020 PIAAC Cycle II Field Test, scheduled to begin in April 2020, was postponed due to the 2020 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. The OECD has delayed both the Field Test and Main Study by 12 months, meaning that the Field Test was due to be carried out in respondent homes beginning in April 2021. In recognition of the continued constraints that countries face in meeting the current Field Test goals and timeline during the continuing global pandemic, the OECD has relaxed the current field test standards to allow for a smaller Operational Field Test of survey implementation. Currently, none of the 13 areas of the US in the PIAAC field test sample has low enough rates of new daily cases of COVID-19 for safe and productive field interviews. After several months of careful monitoring of new daily case rates and considering OECD guidance, NCES has elected to conduct an Operational Field Test. Therefore, this request updates the package to reflect the change to an Operational Field Test. Additionally, NCES has imposed new requirements on study nomenclature that require changes to the U.S. outreach and recruitment materials and program nomenclature in the instruments. The revisions made do include changes to respondent burden and the cost to the federal government.
US Code:
20 USC 9543
Name of Law: Education Sciences Reform Act
Since PIAAC is a cyclical study, the PIAAC Cycle II Field Test and Main Study data collections are building on the Cycle I content and procedures. The most significant changes or adjustments result from the timing and design changes resulting from the inability to safely conduct in-home face-to-face interviewing during the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The original 2020 approved Cycle II Field Test featured a stratified purposive subsample of 20 PSUs selected from the PIAAC Cycle I 2017 sample of 80 PSUs. The target sample yield of 1500 was required to estimate item parameters for all newly developed assessment items and to test the stability of the trend item parameters for each tested language in a participating country. Achieving the target sample yield required a three month field period, April through June. This was true for both the original 2020 Field Test and the modified 2021 Field Test. This field period allowed for data processing and tabulation in time for inclusion in the International Consortium required deadline of August 15th. The current Operational Field Test, reduced in both scope and number of respondents, in consideration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will run June through early-August 2021. The current Operational Field Test approach tests survey implementation as well as tests the functionalities of the tablet device and the ease of use of the device and interface for adults with low levels of familiarity with tablet devices. As presented in more detail within Part B, a convenience sample of volunteers in the greater Washington DC metropolitan area will be recruited to achieve a total of 250 completed cases. Volunteers will be screened on relevant demographic characteristics: age, gender, level of education, English language proficiency and computer/tablet familiarity. Recruitment quotas will be set within each of these characteristicsâ categories.
Additional changes to the program from PIAAC Cycle I to PIAAC Cycle II, beyond the changes in the Field Test, include the use of a tablet computer to administer the study instruments, modules added to the background questionnaire, and the elimination of paper booklets during the Field Test (to be included in the Main Study).
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.
Appendix E PIAAC Cycle II COVID-19 Interviewer Procedures Manual.docx
Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Cycle II 2022 Operational Field Test