Adults' proficiency in key information-processing skills

This chapter describes the level and distribution of proficiency in the three information-processing skills assessed – literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments – among adults in the participating countries and economies. To help readers interpret the findings, the results are linked to descriptions of what particular scores mean in concrete terms. In addition to presenting the distribution of scores across countries/economies, the chapter also shows the variation in scores among adults in individual countries/economies, and the relationship between the average proficiency level and the degree of variation in scores within a given country. The chapter describes the relationship among the three proficiencies and compares results from this survey with the two previous surveys of adult skills: the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL).