Transcript IALC template for presenters
What’s the adult L&N story?
The results from international assessments of adult literacy and numeracy skills Juliette Mendelovits
CEET 17th Annual National Conference Friday 1 November 2013 Monash Conference Centre, Melbourne
A literacy deficit
Half of all adults in Tasmania cannot read or write properly, and many of their children are following in their footsteps as badly needed school reforms are frustrated. Sarah Dingle investigates.
A report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for 2011-2012 shows half of all Tasmanians aged 15 to 74 are functionally illiterate, and more than half are functionally innumerate— meaning they don’t have the skills needed to get by in the modern world, like filling out forms, or reading the instructions on their prescription.
ABC Radio National, Background Briefing, Sunday 22 September 2013
WHAT’S BEHIND THE HEADLINES?
Tasmanian 'illiteracy' and 'innumeracy' levels
15 to 74 year olds 2006 - ALLS
Document
literacy Numeracy ALLS 2006
Tasmania
Below Level 3
51%
ALLS 2006
Tasmania
Below Level 3
56%
2011-12 PIAAC Literacy PIAAC 2011-12
Tasmania
Below Level 3
49%
Numeracy PIAAC 2011-12
Tasmania
Below Level 3
58%
Australian 'illiteracy' and 'innumeracy' levels
Document
literacy ALLS 2006
Tasmania Victoria Australia
Literacy PIAAC 2011-12
Tasmania Victoria Australia
Below Level 3
51% 49% 47%
Below Level 3
49% 46% 44%
Numeracy ALLS 2006
Tasmania Victoria Australia
Numeracy ALLS 2006
Tasmania Victoria Australia
Below Level 3
56% 54% 53%
Below Level 3
58% 54% 55%
According to ALLs [and PIAAC?]
About Australian adults are
50%
of
functionally illiterate and innumerate
How can this be true?
What does ‘below Level 3’ mean?
According to the international ALLS reports, Level 3 is ‘a suitable minimum level for coping with the increasing demands of the emerging knowledge society and information economy’
A Level 2 literacy item from PIAAC
Level 2 literacy description (226 to 275 points)
At this level, the medium of texts may be digital or printed, and texts may comprise continuous, non-continuous, or mixed types. Tasks at this level require respondents to make matches between the text and information, and may require paraphrasing or low-level inferences. Some competing pieces of information may be present. Some tasks require the respondent to
• cycle through or integrate two or more pieces of information based on criteria; • compare and contrast or reason about information requested in the question; or • navigate within digital texts to access and identify information from various parts of a document.
A Level 3 numeracy item from PIAAC
Level 3 numeracy description (276 to 325 points)
Tasks at this level require the respondent to understand mathematical information that may be less explicit, embedded in contexts that are not always familiar and represented in more complex ways. Tasks require several steps and may involve the choice of problem-solving strategies and relevant processes. Tasks tend to require the application of number sense and spatial sense; recognising and working with mathematical relationships, patterns, and proportions expressed in verbal or numerical form; and interpretation and basic analysis of data and statistics in texts, tables and graphs.
PIAAC: an overview
The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)
• An international survey of adults 16-64 years of age (15 to 74 year olds in Australia) • Commissioned by the OECD, implemented internationally by a • consortium led by Educational Testing Service (ETS) (USA) • Administered in Australia by the ABS Measures the domains of • literacy (reading) • • numeracy problem solving in technology-rich environments (PSTRE) • Modes of administration • • paper and pen computer • Administered in 25 OECD countries (including Australia) and sub national entities in 2011-12 • Comparable with the results of the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey ??
Results from PIAAC
Means for Australia and selected participating countries
Australia Canada England/ N.Ireland
Japan Korea United States Average
Literacy Mean scale score 280
273 272
296
273
270
273
Numeracy Mean scale score
268
265 262
288
263 253
269
PSTRE % at Level 2 or 3 38 37
35 35
30 31
34
Level 2: 226 to 275 points Level 3: 276 to 325 points
Results from PIAAC
% at each literacy level for Australia and selected participating countries
Australia Canada England / N.Ireland
Japan Korea United States Average
Below Level 1 3
4 3 1 2 4
3 Level 1 9
13 13 4 11 14
12 Level 2 29
32 33 23 37 33
33 Level 3 39
37 36 49 42 34
38 Level 4/5 17
14 13 22 8 12
12
CONSTRUCTION OF THE LITERACY AND NUMERACY REPORTING SCALES
Items and test-takers are placed on the same scale
High Achievers Low Achievers
| | X| | X| 2 XX| XX|7 XX| XXX|34 XXX|19 XXXX|23 1 XXXXXX|12 XXXXXX| XXXXX|11 22 XXXXXX|26 27 33 XXXXXXX|10 14 30 32 XXXXXXX|2 5 20 0 XXXXXXXX|1 4 6 21 29 XXXXXXXXXX|8 16 XXXXXXX|9 31 XXXXXXXXX|3 XXXXXXXX|18 25 XXXXXXXX|13 -1 XXXXXXX|15 XXXXXXXX| XXXXXX| XXXXXXX| XXXX|24 XXXX| -2 XXXXX| XXX|28 XX|17 XX| XX| X| -3 X| X| X| |
Difficult items Easy items
Relationship between difficulty of assessment items and proficiency of adults
Anchoring of tests
The Rasch model derives comparable scores for two different assessments via the inclusion of 'anchor' items.
Anchoring can be used: across test forms (e.g. Rotated designs) across populations (e.g. Different countries) across time (e.g. Different Adult literacy cycles – ALLS and PIAAC)
Example of anchoring between two populations of different ability
Different tests Common items Same Scale!
A map of item difficulty and test-takers’ proficiency
Once items and adults are placed on the same proficiency levels are defined scale,
Level 5 Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Below Level 1
| | X| | X| 2 XX| PIAAC literacy Level 4
Tasks at this level often require respondents to perform multiple-step operations to integrate, interpret, or synthesise information from complex
XXXX|23
or lengthy continuous, non-continuous, mixed, or multiple type texts. ...
XXXXXX| XXXXX|11 22 XXXXXX|26 27 33 XXXXXXX|10 14 30 32 XXXXXXX|2 5 20 0 XXXXXXXX|1 4 6 21 29 XXXXXXXXXX|8 16 XXXXXXX|9 31 PIAAC literacy Level 2
... Tasks at this level require respondents to make matches between the text and information, and may require paraphrasing or low-level inferences. Some competing pieces of information may be present. . ...
XXXXXX| XXXXXXX| PIAAC literacy Level 1 XXXX|
Most of the tasks at this level require the respondent to read relatively short digital or print continuous, non-continuous, or mixed texts to locate a single piece of information.
XX| XX| X| -3 X| X| X| | ...
Described literacy levels from PIAAC
Level 2
... Tasks at this level require respondents to make matches between the text and information, and may require paraphrasing or low-level inferences. Some competing pieces of information may be present. . ...
WHAT DOES PIAAC TELL US ABOUT THE DISTRIBUTION OF AUSTRALIANS’ SKILLS?
Sex and skills Australians aged 15 to 74 PIAAC literacy level by sex
45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Below Level 1 / Level 1 Level 2
PIAAC level
Level 3 Level 4/5 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Below Level 1 / Level 1
PIAAC numeracy level by sex
Level 2 Level 3
PIAAC level
Level 4/5 Males Females Males Females
Employment and skills Australians aged 15 to 74 PIAAC literacy level by employment status
45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Below Level 1 / Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
PIAAC Level
Level 4/5 Employed Not employed Total
SO WHAT ABOUT THE HEADLINES?
ALLS
How can all of this be true?
PISA
According to PISA About 15% of Australian 15-year olds are below the required standard of reading and maths
NAPLAN
According to ALLS about
50%
numeracy of Australian adults are below the minimum standard of literacy and According to NAPLAN about
6%
of Australian Year 9 students are below the required standard of literacy and numeracy
Comparability of scales?
A project sponsored by the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and the Australian Council for Education Research
Preliminary findings : Literacy