PIAAC Cycle 2 assessment framework: Numeracy

This chapter presents the framework for conceptualising and assessing adult numeracy and developing a reporting scale for the direct assessment of numeracy as part of the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC Cycle 2). Numeracy as described here refers to adults’ skills in accessing, using and reasoning critically with mathematical content, information and ideas represented in multiple ways in order to engage in and manage the mathematical demands of a range of situations in adult life. The framework describes the conceptual and theoretical foundations behind the adult numeracy construct and the principles applied for assessing numeracy in PIAAC and the distribution of the numeracy assessment items by a range of task characteristics.