The  is developing a research base about effective ways to use technology in adult learning. It develops, adopts, and evaluates interventions that use technology to build adult learners’ skills and improve their academic outcomes. The Network’s activities and resources guide practitioners, educators, researchers, and policy and funding stakeholders in their work using technology to support adult skills programming.ÌýFunded by the Institute of Education Sciences, the CREATE Adult Skills Network is a national coalition that supports evidence-based insights into technology-supported teaching and learning initiatives.Ìý
The (PIAAC), also known as the Survey of Adult Skills, is a large-scale international study of key cognitive and workplace skills of adults. PIAAC data are collected from adults ages 16–74 in the United States and ages 16–65 in the other countries. It is designed to assess and compare adults’ skills in  over a broad range of abilities, from reading simple passages to complex problem-solving skills, and to collect information on an individual's skill use and background. Cycle I of PIAAC collected data in 2012, 2014, and 2017.
For the , the OECD has updated PIAAC’s study instruments. The first round of the Cycle II data collection was completed in 2023, with  participating.ÌýThe first round of the PIAAC Cycle II data collection in the United States occurred September 2022 through June 2023 with a nationally representative household sample of adults ages 16–74. NCES released results in December 2024; U.S. specific results have not been released.
About ILSA Gateway
°Õ³ó±ðÌý is an open-access platform that, for the first time, provides researchers a single entry point to major international large-scale assessments in education conducted by the following organizations: CONFEMEN (PASEC), the IDB (PRIDI), the IEA (ICCS, ICILS, PIRLS, TEDS-M, and TIMSS), IEA/UNESCO (REDS), the OECD (IELS, PIAAC, PISA, TALIS, and TALIS Starting Strong), SACMEQ (SACMEQ III, SACMEQ IV), SEAMEO/UNICEF (SEA-PLM), UNESCO (TERCE), and the World Bank (STEP).
For each study, users can navigate to a fact sheet that provides a quick overview; read more detailed information on the study framework, design, results, and data pages; and easily access the related resources on the external study websites. The platform also features a glossary, search tool, and paper database, of which the latter allows researchers to identify relevant articles published to date in peer-reviewed journals, including secondary analyses of the above-mentioned study data.
The website is available at .
Download the ILSA Gateway brochure on:
It’s about time! Exploring time allocation patterns of adults with lower literacy skills on a digital assessment
This 2024 publication () uses process data to investigate a gap in understanding adult learner engagement with digital literacy assessments.
The rapid response, innovation, and challenges of sustainability, in the time of COVID-19: Reports from the field
This 2022 publication () includes information compiled by members of the Ìý²¹²Ô»åÌý staff to describe how adult foundational education (AFE) responded to the pandemic. Findings inform the field and offer useful suggestions to AFE and literacy practitioners.Ìý   Â
Calling all researchers: If you have a research idea that you would like to share with the ALAE SIG, please let us know. It might be an innovative proposal you are working on that would benefit other ALAE researchers, a conference you are planning, a workshop or webinar for researchers, or some other creative idea. Let us help you get the word out to fellow researchers. Please submit your ideas to the ALAE SIG chair (Dr. Elizabeth Tighe at etighe@gsu.edu).
From the Institute of Education Sciences: