Computer-based assessment (CBA)

The computer-based assessment consists of the following parts, which are all automatically scored:

• Information communication technology (ICT) core: A set of easy basic computer tasks to assess basic functional computer skills necessary to take the main assessment on the computer. 
• Computer-based literacy/numeracy core: A set of short, easy literacy and numeracy tasks to gather information about basic literacy and numeracy cognitive skills of the participants. 
• Computer-based literacy items: The CBA literacy domain consists of 52 items based on the PIAAC definition of literacy. Of these 52 computer-based items, 30 come from IALS/ALL and will serve as linking items to equate results on PIAAC with results from IALS and ALL. The remaining 22 computer-based literacy items were newly created for PIAAC. [More...]
• Computer-based numeracy items:  The CBA numeracy domain consists of 52 items based on the PIAAC definition of numeracy. Of these 52 computer-based items, 30 come from IALS/ALL and will serve as linking items to equate results on PIAAC with results from IALS and ALL. The remaining 22 computer-based numeracy items were newly created for PIAAC. [Less...]

Numeracy items (both CBA and PBA) ask participants to answer questions about quantity and number; dimension and shape; pattern, relation, and change; and data and chance. The information in these questions may be presented as:

• Objects or pictures
• Numbers or mathematical symbols
• Formulae
• Diagrams or maps
• Graphs or tables
• Texts
• Technology-based displays (computer-based assessment only)

Questions about these four key areas of mathematical content are placed in one of four contexts: everyday life, work-related context, and social or community, and further learning. The questions are meant to assess five specific cognitive processes:

• Identify, locate, or access
• Act upon or use
• Interpret
• Evaluate or solve
• Communicate

Distribution of items by response process

	Final item set		Framework goal
	Number	Percent	Percent
Act upon, use	34	61	50
Identify, locate or access	3	5	10
Interpret, evaluate	19	34	40
Total	56	100	100
Source: Literacy, Numeracy and Problem Solving in Technology-rich Environments: Framework for the OECD Survey of Adult Skills. Paris: OECD, 2012. Page 40.




Distribution of items by contexts

	Final item set
	Number	Percent
Everyday life	25	45
Work-related	13	23
Society and community	14	25
Further learning	4	7
Total	56	100
Source: Literacy, Numeracy and Problem Solving in Technology-rich Environments: Framework for the OECD Survey of Adult Skills. Paris: OECD, 2012. Page 40.




Distribution of items by mathematical content

	Final item set		Framework goal
	Number	Percent	Percent
Data and chance	12	21	25
Dimension and shape	16	29	25
Pattern, relationships and change	15	27	20
Quantity and change	13	23	30
Total	56	100	100
Source: Literacy, Numeracy and Problem Solving in Technology-rich Environments: Framework for the OECD Survey of Adult Skills. Paris: OECD, 2012. Page 40.




Distribution of items by mode of administration

	Final item set
	Number	Percent
Computer- and paper-based	21	38
Computer-based only	31	55
Paper-based only	4	7
Total	56	100



• Problem solving in technology-rich environments (PS-TRE) items: The PS-TRE domain consists of 14 items based on the PIAAC problem solving framework. All of these items were newly created for PIAAC. [More...]