When it comes to adult skills, Portugal only scores higher than Chile
In a study that should shine a glaring spotlight on the shortcomings of the country’s education ‘system’, around 40% of adults living in Portugal can only understand simple texts and solve basic numerical problems.
The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) study shows that when it comes to Adult Skills, Portuguese have some way to go.
This was the first time that Portugal took part in the ‘Adult Skills Inquiry’ (2023), which assesses the public’s competences in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem-solving in 31 countries.
Only Chileans have more difficulty than the Portuguese in interpreting texts or carrying out the mathematical operations required in their daily lives, according to the results released today.
On a scale of zero to 500, the more than 3,000 Portuguese participants scored 235 points in literacy, well below the average for OECD countries (but just above Chileans).
The study shows that 15% of Portuguese respondents can, at most, understand short, simple sentences and that another 27% can understand short texts and organised lists.
Thus, in Portugal, 42% of the general public has a very low level of literacy, according to the results of those surveyed, who represent 6.6 million people between the ages of 16 and 65 living in the country.
On the other hand, only 4% of adults demonstrated high performance in this area, being “able to understand and evaluate long, dense texts of several pages, understand complex or hidden meanings and use prior knowledge to understand texts and carry out tasks”.
Four out of 10 Portuguese adults can only make basic calculations with whole numbers or money. They can understand the meaning of decimals and find some information in tables or graphs, but have difficulty with tasks that require several steps, such as calculating a proportion.
Among adults, 16% can only add and subtract small numbers, as opposed to the 7% of adults who can calculate and understand rates and ratios, interpret complex graphs and critically evaluate arguments based on statistical information.
Another of the areas analysed was problem solving, where 42% of residents in Portugal obtained very low results because they can only solve simple problems with few variables and little ancillary information.
Only 2% of adults scored highly, showing that they have a deeper understanding of problems and can adapt to unexpected changes.
Portugal scored 233 points in problem solving, outperforming only four other countries: Italy (230), Lithuania (230), Poland (226) and Chile (217).
“When the three domains are considered together 30% of adults in Portugal scored in the lowest two levels of the proficiency scales,” reads the report.
For this inquiry, respondents carried out tasks, some of which involved complex, data-intensive digital environments that are increasingly common in the workplace and in everyday life in modern societies.
Researchers point out that adults with higher numeracy skills, for example, are more likely to be employed, earn higher salaries and be happier than those with lower numeracy skills.
However “despite significant efforts by governments and social partners to strengthen adult education and training systems, the inquiry reveals a very uneven skills landscape, with a growing number of people ill-prepared for the future,” warn Ardreas Schleicher, OECD Director for Education and Skills, and Stefano Scarpetta, OECD Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, in the report’s foreword.
In the last decade, only Finland and Denmark have seen significant improvements in adult literacy, while other participating countries and economies have seen stagnation or decline.
This inquiry took place between 2022 and 2023, with the participation of 160,000 adults from 31 countries and economies, representing 673 million people.
LUSA
