Turkish adults score low in literacy, numeracy, problem-solving: OECD

As part of its Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) conducted a survey in Turkey between April 2014 and March 2015 and found that Turkish adults were significantly below the OECD average in literacy skills, ranking third lowest in the category among other countries which participated to the survey, namely Chile, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Lithuania, New Zealand, Singapore and Slovenia.   

Concerning the problem-solving skills of the surveyed adults in the country, the majority showed “no or only basic proficiency” in technology-rich environments, the study revealed.  

According to the report, 38 percent of adults in Turkey (compared with 14.7 percent of adults in all participating countries/economies) indicated they had no prior experience with computers or lacked basic computer skills, while 34.6 percent scored at or below Level 1, which is the level where adults can use “only widely available and familiar technology applications, such as email software or a web browser.” The report noted this result was slightly below the OECD average of 42.9 percent. 

In numeracy, which measures the ability to use numerical and mathematical concepts, only 1.5 percent of Turkish adults scored at Level 4 or 5 in numeracy skills, showing a significantly lower trend than the average of 11.2 percent of adults among participating countries. “At Level 4, adults understand a broad range of mathematical information that may be complex, abstract or found in unfamiliar contexts,” said the study. 

The study also revealed that “gender-related differences in proficiency in information-processing skills” were “among the largest” in Turkey among all countries and economies surveyed.