In 2009-2013, Russia for the first time joined the testing of skills and the level of literacy of the adult population, which is carried out by the international program PIAAC. It was attended by more than 5,000 people across the country, who passed a questionnaire and test assignments in reading, mathematics, information technology. Based on the data obtained, scientists have come to quite unexpected conclusions. For example, women in Russia turned out to be smarter than men.
About PIAAC
The international project PIAAC (The Program for the International Assessment for Adult Competencies) began its work in 2008. It was created with the assistance of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The purpose of the program is to collect information that forms an idea of the distribution of the level of knowledge and competencies among the adult population of the country. This data helps the authorities to plan their future workforce development strategy.
In 2013, the study assessed several competencies:
- reading skills;
- level of knowledge in mathematics;
- knowledge of a technologically rich environment (Internet, digital technologies, communication tools).
Testing took place in two stages - filling out a questionnaire and solving test problems. The questionnaire included questions about the respondent's age, education, employment. Considering that not everyone knows how to use a computer, the participants were also offered a paper version of the tasks.
The results of the program are aimed at solving a number of problems:
- assessment of differences in knowledge and skills by age category within the same country;
- comparative analysis of all countries that participated;
- establishing the relationship between the level of competence of people and their socio-economic achievements in society;
- analysis of the effectiveness of a single education system for the formation of key skills;
- search for effective mechanisms for learning and successful work throughout life;
- adjustment of the educational program, taking into account the identified problems in the knowledge and skills of the population, as well as the organization of additional training in the workplace.
Peculiarities of PIAAC in Russia in 2013
Until 2013, in Russia, the last time such studies were carried out in the mid-90s. In total, 24 countries have become PIAAC participants, and 22 of them are members of the OECD. Only Russia and Cyprus are not part of it. In our country, the program was implemented by the Institute of Education of the National Research University Higher School of Economics together with the Center for Fundamental Research at the National Research University Higher School of Economics. The project was actively supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.
The total number of people who underwent international testing was 157 thousand people, the age category is 16-65 years old. According to the regulations, 5,000 people from each country took part, randomly selected.
Since Russia is not a member of the OECD, it was not included in the official final report. The results for our country were presented in a technical report. True, not everything went smoothly with the implementation of the program.
The discontent of Russian experts was caused by the exclusion from the number of respondents of residents of Moscow and the Moscow region, as the most educated and literate part of the population. And in an international report, PIAAC experts expressed their suspicions about the falsification of a large amount of information from Russia. This could be a consequence of the refusal of our country from automated data analysis, which was recommended to all participants to improve accuracy and reliability. As a result, the statistical error of the Russian results was 5 times higher than the similar indicator in other countries.
2013 PIAAC Results: Women Are Smarter in Russia
Russian participants showed decent results in assessing reading skills, their average score (275) even exceeded the final average value - 273. The leaders of this rating are the Netherlands (284), Finland (288) and Japan (296). By the way, the Japanese and Finns took first and second places in terms of mathematical literacy. They scored 288 and 282 points, respectively. Belgium took the third place (280). And the Russians showed a result of 270, which is close to the overall average score of 269.
The assessment of the level of computer proficiency, carried out in the third test task, was of particular importance for Russian experts. And without statistical research in Russia, the problem with computer literacy is clearly visible. However, the test results confirmed that the category of such citizens is 48.5% of the country's adult population. Moreover, 40.5% of respondents have minimal computer skills, and only 25.9% of participants can boast of a high level of knowledge in this area.
An unexpected surprise for the experts was presented by Russian women. They overtook men in all three tests. In terms of reading skills, Russian women received 282 points, and representatives of the stronger sex - 278. In mathematics, women achieved the minimum advantage - 275 against 274. Knowledge of computer literacy again remained with the ladies - 285 against 281. It can be said that scientists have empirically proven the intellectual superiority of Russian women over men.
Among other results of the study, experts noted the failure of test scores among respondents aged 30-34, which leads to sad thoughts about the quality of education during perestroika and Yeltsin's rule. But in general, experts called the results encouraging. Especially against the background of the assessment of the knowledge of schoolchildren conducted a little earlier in the framework of the PISA project.
In 2020, preliminary testing under the new PIAAC program will take place in Russia, 1,500 people will take part in it. And in 2021, our country will join the main study for the second time, the results of which will be summed up in 2023.
