ABS-D: Adult Basic Skills in Literacy and Numeracy in Denmark

In cooperation with the OECD and TBA, VIVE carries out a follow-up study on PIAAC’s first cycle in Denmark. The TBA Centre’s tasks involve the preparation of the technical delivery of the computer-based assessment as well as the psychometric aspects of the design, data processing, and scaling.

In 2012, Denmark participated PIAAC’s first assessment cycle, the International Assessment of Adult Competencies. The PIAAC study was initiated by the OECD, also sometimes referred to as PISA for Adults. Its core component consists of a computer-based assessment, including a test for basic skills such as reading literacy as well as a background questionnaire. Within this project, VIVE now carries out a new data collection, with the main goal of a direct comparison to the Danish results in 2012 with respect to literacy and numeracy. VIVE is an independent research and analysis center operating under the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs and the Interior.
In this endeavor, technical as well as psychometric aspects have to be taken into account. The TBA Centre takes over some of the associated tasks. Several conditions of the 2012 assessment have to be reproduced to ensure a legitimate comparison of the new and old data. At the same time, new requirements have to be integrated, such as a shortened background questionnaire. Therefore, the TBA Centre adjusts the original PIAAC assessment system for VIVE’s needs, advises VIVE in setting up the study design, processes the collected data, and carries out psychometric quality checks and scaling.

Funding: VIVE

Project Partners: OECD, VIVE

Duration: 2020–2021

Contact: Fabian Zehner, Daniel Schiffner, Frank Goldhammer