PIAAC Background Questionnaire (BQ)
The PIAAC Background Questionnaire (BQ) collects detailed policy-relevant information about participants, allowing for an examination of (a) how skills are distributed across different subgroups of the population, (b) how participants acquire those skills, (c) what skills participants regularly use at work and at home, and (d) how skills contribute to economic and non-economic outcomes. In order to obtain this information, the background questionnaire asks participants about their basic demographics (e.g., age, gender, race, and nativity); education and training; present and past work experience; work responsibilities; use of specific literacy, numeracy, and information and communications technology (ICT) skills at work and outside of work; personal traits; and non-economic outcomes.
In order to obtain background information from a wide range of respondents in the United States, the background questionnaire was administered in either English or Spanish. The PIAAC background questionnaire includes several items used in past IALS and ALL assessments for continuity. In addition, the PIAAC Cycle 2 (2023) BQ was designed to allow results to be as comparable as possible with Cycle 1 (2012-2017), with a substantial share of the items from Cycle 1 being used without significant modification.
However, there are some important improvements to the PIAAC Cycle 2 BQ. One involves collecting detailed information on educational pathways extending beyond the highest qualification attained,
where survey participants were asked about additional qualifications acquired.
Another important improvement is that the survey has been revised to better align with the current demands faced by adults in today's societies, reflecting the significant changes in adults’ engagement with the digital environment, at work and outside of work, between the two cycles of PIAAC in 2012 and 2023.
A high-level comparison of the PIAAC Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 international background questionnaires can be found in the Cycle 2 BQ table below.
There are over approximately 300 questions in the BQ, but since the BQ is adaptive, respondents do not receive every question. Among other variables, there is major routing based on respondents’ education and employment status. Participating countries are allowed to add up to 5 minutes of country-specific items. In Cycle 1 of PIAAC, the United States added questions focused on education, country of origin, language and race/ethnicity, training courses, occupation, health, work, and earnings. The majority of the Cycle 1 U.S. country-specific questions were adopted from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) 2003 background questionnaire. In Cycle 2, in addition to race/ethnicity, military service, household income, and a smaller set of health questions, the U.S. country-specific questions included a section on financial literacy that involves around 20 questions gathering information about participants’ financial knowledge and behavior (see section L of the Cycle 2 BQ).
For more information on the development of the PIAAC household background questionnaires, refer to the PIAAC Cycle 1 BQ Conceptual Framework and Cycle 2 BQ Conceptual Framework.
For questionnaires from other PIAAC Cycles 1 and 2, click below:
PIAAC Household Background Questionnaire (BQ)
The PIAAC Background Questionnaire (BQ) is meant to identify (a) what skills participants regularly use in their job and in their home life, (b) how participants acquire those skills, and (c) how those skills are distributed throughout the population. In order to obtain this information, the background questionnaire asks participants about their basic demographics; education and training; present and past work experience; work responsibilities; use of specific literacy, numeracy, and information and communications technology (ICT) skills at work and at home; personal traits; and background information.
In order to obtain background information from a wide range of respondents in the United States, the background questionnaire was administered in either English or Spanish, depending on the language of the respondent. The PIAAC background questionnaire includes several items used in past IALS and ALL assessments for continuity.
Participating countries are allowed to add up to 5 minutes of country-specific items. The United States added questions focused on education, country of origin, language and ethnicity, training courses, occupation, health, work, and earnings. A majority of the U.S. country-specific questions were adopted from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) 2003 background questionnaire. Questions in the U.S. household background questionnaire that were adapted from the international version of the PIAAC questionnaire have "US" at the end of the variable name (e.g., B_Q01aUS), and questions that are country-specific and only administered in the United States have "USX" at the end of the variable name (e.g., B_Q01bUSX).
For more information on the development of the PIAAC household background questionnaire, refer to the PIAAC BQ Conceptual Framework.
Structure of the Cycle 1 (2012-2017) household background questionnaires
Case Initialization (interviewer): The beginning section of the questionnaire deals with case initialization (CI), a process used to determine if a sampled person is eligible for the assessment.
Main Section (respondent): The interviewer’s questions begin with question A_Q01a. Each question begins with a letter representing the section to which it belongs. The questionnaire is divided into the following areas of interest:
- Section A: Basic Demographics
- Section B: Past and Present Education
- Section C: Work History
- Section D: Present Work Experience
- Section E: Past Work Experience
- Section F: Work Responsibilities
- Section G: Skills Used at Work
- Section H: Skills Used Outside of Work
- Section I: Personal Characteristics and Health
- Section J: General Background Information
Researchers should note that each question is named with a letter representing the section to which it belongs, a number indicating its position in the section’s sequence of questions, and sometimes an additional marker. For example, the interviewer’s first question is A_Q01a. Questions in the U.S. household background questionnaire that were adapted from the international version of the PIAAC questionnaire have “US” at the end of the variable name (e.g., B_Q01aUS) and questions that were country-specific and only administered in the United States have “USX” at the end of the variable name (e.g., B_Q01bUSX).
ZZ Section (interviewer): The final section of the questionnaire (ZZ) contains general questions for the interviewer to answer regarding the interview process itself. This includes assigning a disposition code, which would indicate whether the respondent completed the interview, had a language problem, or had a learning/mental disability, as well as other variables, such as whether the respondent was interrupted by some other task or needed assistance during the interview.
Prison Background Questionnaire
For the prison study, the background questionnaire was tailored to address the needs and experiences of incarcerated adults. Specifically, the prison background questionnaire focuses on collecting information about various educational and training activities in prison, such as participation in academic programs and ESL classes, experiences with prison jobs, and involvement in vocational training and non-academic programs, such as employment readiness classes. Questions in the prison background questionnaire that were added or edited to refer to experiences in prison have "P" at the beginning of the variable name (e.g., P_Q170). Several questions were adopted from the household background questionnaire and may use the same variable naming convention as the household items, even if they refer to experiences in prison. A majority of the prison-specific questions were adopted from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) 2004 prison background questionnaire.
Structure of the prison background questionnaires
Case Initialization (interviewer): The beginning section of the questionnaire deals with case initialization (CI), a process used to determine if a sampled person is eligible for the assessment.
Main Section (respondent): The interviewer’s questions begin with question A_Q01a. Each question begins with a letter representing the section to which it belongs, with the exception of some prison-specific questions that begin with the letter P. Prison-specific questions are included in Sections B, D, and J. The questionnaire is broken into the following areas of interest:
- Section A: Basic Demographics
-
Section B: Education and Training
- Past Education
- Education in Prison
- Non-Academic Programs, Training, and Other Activities in Prison
- Section C: Work History Prior to Incarceration
-
Section D: Present Work Experience
- Work Experience in Prison
- Skills Used at Work in Prison
- Section E: Work Experience Prior to Incarceration
- Section F: Work Responsibilities Prior to Incarceration
- Section G: Skills Used at Work Prior to Incarceration
- Section H: Skills Used Outside of Work in Prison
- Section I: Personal Characteristics and Health
- Section J: General Background Information
Researchers should note that each question is named with a letter representing the section to which it belongs (with the exception of some prison-specific questions, which are included in Sections B, D, and J and begin with the letter P), a number indicating its position in the section’s sequence of questions, and sometimes an additional marker. For example, the interviewer’s first question is A_Q01a. Questions in the prison background questionnaire that were added or tailored to refer to experiences in prison have “P” at the beginning of the variable name (e.g., P_Q170). Several questions were adopted from the household background questionnaire and may use the same variable naming convention as the household items, even if they refer to experiences in prison.
ZZ Section (interviewer): The final section of the questionnaire (ZZ) contains general questions for the interviewer to answer regarding the interview process itself. This includes assigning a disposition code, which would indicate whether the respondent completed the interview, had a language problem, or had a learning/mental disability, as well as other variables, such as whether the respondent was interrupted by some other task or needed assistance. The prison ZZ section is a modified version of the household ZZ section because the household ZZ module has observation questions that are not relevant to the prison setting.
Structure of the Cycle 2 (2023) household background questionnaires
Main Section (respondent): The interviewer’s questions begin with question A2_Q01a. Each question begins with a letter representing the section to which it belongs. The questionnaire is divided into the following areas of interest, with examples of the major topics covered in each section:
Section A2: Basic Demographics
- Age, gender, race/ethnicity, immigration and language background
Section B2: Past and Current Education
- Educational attainment
- Current and incomplete education
- Training activities
Section C2: Current Work
- Employment status
- Employment history
Section D2: Current Work Experience
- Occupation, industry, sector
- Characteristics of organization
- Self-employment and supervisory status
- Earnings, contract type, working hours
- Required education and experience
Section E2: Last Work Experience
- Occupation, industry, sector
- Self-employment and supervisory status
- Contract type, working hours
- Required education and experience
Reason for leaving last job
Section F2: Skills Used at Work
- Reading, writing, numeracy, and ICT skills used at work
Section G2: Skills Used Outside of Work
- Reading, writing, numeracy, and ICT skills used outside work
Section H2: Working Environment
- Characteristics of job (e.g., teamwork, work autonomy, coordination, work intensity, client interaction, social support, and perceptions of change)
- Learning on the job
- Skills mismatch
Section I2: Personal Characteristics and Health
- Political efficacy, social trust, and voluntary work
- Health status
- Health insurance, health maintenance practices
- Patience, life satisfaction
Section J2: General Background Information
- Characteristics of people in household (partner, children)
- Household income
- Characteristics of childhood household (parents’ education/occupation, books in home, people in household)
Section L2: Financial Literacy
- Financial behavior
- Financial knowledge
Researchers should note that each question is named with a letter representing the section to which it belongs, a number indicating its position in the section’s sequence of questions, and sometimes an additional marker. For example, the interviewer’s first question is A_Q01a. Questions in the U.S. household background questionnaire that were adapted from the international version of the PIAAC questionnaire have “US” at the end of the variable name (e.g., B2_Q01aUS) and questions that were country-specific and only administered in the United States have “USX” at the end of the variable name (e.g., A2_Q03eUSX1).
Additionally, the background questionnaire includes some system derived variables that include “D” after the first underscore (e.g., C2_D05); routing variables that include “R” after the underscore (e.g., C2_R05); and consistency checks that include “C” after the underscore (e.g., B2_C05b).
U.S. PIAAC Background Questionnaires: Cycle 2 (2023)
| Data Collection |
Questionnaire Links |
Major Sections |
Differences from Cycle 1 (2012-2017) |
| 2023 U.S. PIAAC Household Study |
English |
Spanish
|
Section A2: Basic Demographics
Section B2: Past and Current Education
Section C2: Current Work
Section D2: Current Work Experience
Section E2: Last Work Experience
Section F2: Skills Used at Work
Section G2: Skills Used Outside of Work
Section H2: Working Environment
Section I2: Personal Characteristics and Health
Section J2: General Background Information
Section L2: Financial Literacy
Household Study Structure
|
New Questions:
New questions were added on topics including:
- Educational pathways
- Characteristics of training (mode of training, schedule)
- Unemployment benefits
- Working environment and use of high-performance work practices (e.g., teamwork, knowledge sharing)
- Household composition growing up
- Parents’ occupation
- A section on financial literacy
Updated Questions:
Some questions were adapted to reflect changes in the technological environment, meaning they were updated with similar types of questions but are not compatible with their Cycle 1 equivalents for the purposes of identifying data trends. Examples of these questions include:
- Types of math and ICT skill use
Some questions were adapted to new international standards, for example:
- Education questions used ISCED11
Dropped Questions:
A few questions from Cycle 1 were dropped, including:
- Readiness to learn indicators
- Adult basic education
- Some preventative health practices
These examples do not cover all differences from Cycle 1. For comprehensive details on changes to the International BQ see the BQ Conceptual Framework.
|
The online questionnaires are formatted into boxes containing each question. The questions are in boxes with blue outlines. After some questions, there are boxes with green derived variable or routing labels that provide the questionnaire’s system-derived variables and automated routing instructions (i.e., instructions for which question comes next, based on the last response). With these routing instructions, the questionnaire adapts to respondents’ answers and routes them past irrelevant questions. For example, if a respondent says that they have not attended college, the routing instructions will skip questions about what they studied in college.
You may use the routing boxes to see how the routing process works by clicking on the links within the IF THEN statements for each possible response. Some of the links will take you to a different part of the questionnaire, but you can return to the question by using the navigation toolbar on the left side of the web page.
Item names
U.S. Household Background Questionnaire
Each item name begins with a letter representing the section to which it belongs (e.g., item H2_Q03c belongs to Section H).
Questions that were adapted for the United States from the international version of the questionnaire have "US" at the end of the variable name (e.g., B2_Q01aUS). Country-specific questions that were only administered in the United States have "USX" at the end of the variable name (e.g., A2_Q03eUSX1).
Additionally, the background questionnaire includes some system-derived variables that include “D” after the first underscore (e.g., C2_D05); routing variables that include “R” after the underscore (e.g., C2_R05); and consistency checks that include “C” after the underscore (e.g., B2_C05b).
U.S. PIAAC Background Questionnaires: Cycle 1 (2012–2017)
| U.S. Round |
Data Collection |
Questionnaire Links |
Difference From the Previous Rounds in Cycle 1 |
Links |
| Round 3 |
2017 U.S. PIAAC Household Study |
English | Spanish |
Additional questions on:
- Certifications
- Desirability of employment hours increase and contract permanency
- Military service
- Total household income
|
Household Study Structure |
| Round 2 |
2014 U.S. PIAAC Prison Study |
English | Spanish |
Additional questions on:
- Educational and training activities in prison
- Experiences with prison jobs
- Involvement in vocational training and non-academic programs in prison
|
Prison Study Overview
|
Prison Study Structure |
| 2012/2014 U.S. PIAAC Household Study (National Supplement) |
English | Spanish |
No additional questions; adjusted age-range and year changes throughout the questionnaire. |
Household Study Structure |
| Round 1 |
2012 U.S. PIAAC Household Study (Main Study) |
English | Spanish |
Section A: Basic Demographics
Section B: Past and Present Education
Section C: Work History
Section D: Present Work Experience
Section E: Past Work Experience
Section F: Work Responsibilities
Section G: Skills Used at Work
Section H: Skills Used Outside of Work
Section I: Personal Characteristics and Health
Section J: General Background Information
|
Household Study Structure |
The online questionnaires are formatted into boxes containing each question. After some questions, there are green boxes that provide the questionnaire’s automated routing instructions (i.e., instructions for which question comes next, based on the last response). With these routing instructions, the questionnaire adapts to respondents’ answers and routes them past irrelevant questions. For example, if a respondent says that they have not attended college, the routing instructions will skip past questions about what they studied in college.
You may use the green boxes to see how the routing process works by clicking on the links within the IF THEN statements for each possible response. Some of the links will take you to a different part of the questionnaire, but you can return to the question by using the yellow navigation toolbar on the left side of the web page.
Item names
U.S. Household Background Questionnaire
Each item name begins with a letter representing the section to which it belongs (e.g., item H_Q03c belongs to Section H).
Questions that were adapted for the United States from the international version of the questionnaire have "US" at the end of the variable name (e.g., B_Q01aUS). Country-specific questions that were only administered in the United States have "USX" at the end of the variable name (e.g., B_Q01bUSX).
U.S. Prison Background Questionnaire
In most cases, each item name begins with a letter representing the section to which it belongs (e.g., item H_Q03c belongs to Section H). Questions that were added or edited to refer to experiences in prison have “P” at the beginning of the variable name (e.g., P_Q170).
Several questions were adopted from the household background questionnaire and may use the same variable naming convention as the household items, even if they refer to experiences in prison.
