Key takeaways from PIAAC

The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is a comprehensive global assessment of adult skills, testing literacy, numeracy, and adaptive problem-solving. The initiative, managed by the  Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has taken place each decade since the mid 1990s. The 2024 results provide insights about particular adult skills and how they have evolved over the past decade. Assessment data, combined with extensive background questionnaires, provide insights about skill outcomes and skill development.

This overview and commentary synthesizes key findings from OECD reports and a presentation, offering an overview of Canada’s performance. It highlights OECD developed implications for adult learning policy, and provides some guidelines for messaging that programs can use. It also clarifies lingering misconceptions about people’s performance on the assessment, specifically at lower levels, and shares OECD findings related to people’s abilities to meet everyday literacy, numeracy and digital demands.

Read our concise report to understand the latest PIAAC results and their significance for adult learning and skills development in Canada.