Indicator 4.6.1 - Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex
Percentage of US persons ages 16 to 65 performing at level 3 or higher of the PIAAC literacy or numeracy measure, by sex, age, and income
Percentage of US persons ages 16 to 65 performing at level 3 or higher of the PIAAC literacy or numeracy measure, by sex, age, and income
Global Metadata
This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the United Nations Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata documentation on all indicators in Goal 4, unless otherwise noted, is provided by the UN Statistics Division.
| SDG Indicator Name | Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex |
|---|---|
| SDG Target Addressed | By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, and achieve literacy and numeracy. |
| Definition of SDG Indicator | From UNESCO:The percentage of youth (aged 15-24 years) and of adults (aged 15 years and above) who achieve or exceed a given level of proficiency in (a) literacy and (b) numeracy.From OECD:Assessment of the proficiency of adults (16-65 year olds) in the domains of literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments. One hour cognitive assessment plus a background questionnaire of around 30-45 minutes. |
| UN Designated Tier | 2 |
| UN Custodial Agency | UNESCO-UIS (Partnering Agencies: World Bank, OECD) |
U.S. Metadata
This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from U.S. statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from U.S. statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other US-specific metadata information
| Method of computation for global SDG indicator | Percentage of 16- to 65-year-olds performing at PIAAC literacy or numeracy level 3 or higher, by sex, age group, and high/low income quartile |
|---|---|
| Graph Title | Percentage of US persons ages 16 to 65 performing at level 3 or higher of the PIAAC literacy or numeracy measure, by sex, age, and income |
| Actual indicator available | Percentage of 16- to 65-year-olds performing at PIAAC literacy or numeracy level 3 or higher, by sex, age group, and high/low income quartile |
| Description of actual indicator available | PIAAC measures literacy and numeracy in both paper and computer modes. Items that measure problem solving in technology-rich environments are only computer-administered. Reading components tasks are only administered in the paper-and-pencil mode. All participating countries are required to assess the literacy and numeracy domains, but the problem solving and reading components domains are both optional. The United States assessed all four domains. PIAAC tasks developed for all four domains are authentic, culturally appropriate, and drawn from real-life situations that are expected to be of importance or relevance in different contexts. Tasks' contents and questions are intended to reflect the purposes of adults' daily lives across cultures, even if they are not necessarily familiar to all adults in all countries. Variable name Variable label I4_6_1_literacy_total PIAAC, literacy, level 3 or higher, total I4_6_1_literacy_male PIAAC, literacy, level 3 or higher, male I4_6_1_literacy_female PIAAC, literacy, level 3 or higher, female I4_6_1_literacy_24 PIAAC, literacy, level 3 or higher, 24 or less I4_6_1_literacy_34 PIAAC, literacy, level 3 or higher, 25 to 34 I4_6_1_literacy_44 PIAAC, literacy, level 3 or higher, 35 to 44 I4_6_1_literacy54 PIAAC, literacy, level 3 or higher, 45 to 54 I4_6_1_literacy_65 PIAAC, literacy, level 3 or higher, 55 to 64 I4_6_1_literacy_lowinc PIAAC, literacy, level 3 or higher, lowest income quartile I4_6_1_literacy_highinc PIAAC, literacy, level 3 or higher, highest income quartile I4_6_1_numeracy_total PIAAC, numeracy, level 3 or higher, total I4_6_1_numeracy_male PIAAC, numeracy, level 3 or higher, male I4_6_1_numeracy_female PIAAC, numeracy, level 3 or higher, female I4_6_1_numeracy_24 PIAAC, numeracy, level 3 or higher, 24 or less I4_6_1_numeracy_34 PIAAC, numeracy, level 3 or higher, 25 to 34 I4_6_1_numeracy_44 PIAAC, numeracy, level 3 or higher, 35 to 44 I4_6_1_numeracy54 PIAAC, numeracy, level 3 or higher, 45 to 54 I4_6_1_numeracy_65 PIAAC, numeracy, level 3 or higher, 55 or older I4_6_1_numeracy_lowinc PIAAC, numeracy, level 3 or higher, lowest income quartile I4_6_1_numeracy_highinc PIAAC, numeracy, level 3 or higher, highest income quartile |
| Method of computation | Weighted percentage of 16- to 65-year-olds performing at PIAAC literacy or numeracy level 3 or higher |
| Comments and limitations | The first round of data collection in the United States (officially known as the U.S. PIAAC Main Study) was conducted from August 2011 through April 2012 with a nationally representative household sample of 5,000 adults between the ages of 16 and 65. |
| Periodicity | About every 10 years |
| Time Period | 2012 |
| Unit of measure | Percentage |
| Disaggregation #1 (Industry or social categories) | Sex, age group, and income quartile |
| Disaggregation #2 (Geographical coverage) | National |
| Date of public data release from National source | 10/2013 |
| Date of last Update of This Page | 10/2016 |
| Scheduled Update by National source | Unknown |
| Scheduled Update by SDG Team | |
| Data Source1 (Agency STAFF NAME) | Tom Snyder |
| Data Source2 (Staff E-MAIL) | tom.snyder@ed.gov |
| Data Source3 (Agency/Survey/Dataset name) | Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), 2012 |
| Indicator web address (closest to data provided) | http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/ideuspiaac/ |
| International and National References | http://piaacgateway.com/ |