Data Files

Overview

PIAAC Cycle 2

The U.S. PIAAC Cycle 2 (2023) national public-use and restricted-use datasets will be available on this page by Spring 2025.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) provides international data—including the U.S. international dataset and OECD International Data Explorer (IDE) tool—from the PIAAC Cycle 2 data collection that took place in 2023, available here.  

The NCES International Data Explorer (IDE) contains a limited selection of U.S. PIAAC Cycle 2 data, with the comprehensive data for the U.S. and all participating countries forthcoming.

PIAAC Cycle 1

The U.S. PIAAC Cycle 1 data include four household datasets: for the 2012 data, the combined 2012/2014 data, the 2017 data, and the combined 2012/2014/2017 data. The U.S. PIAAC Cycle 1 data also include the PIAAC prison data from 2014. The U.S. PIAAC data contain additional variables, such as race/ethnicity and health variables, that are unique to the United States. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) provides international data from the three rounds of PIAAC Cycle 1 data collection that took place in 2012, 2014, and 2017.

The NCES International Data Explorer (IDE) contains the U.S. PIAAC household data (2012/2014 and 2017) and the national prison data (2014), as well as data from the three rounds of international data collection (2012, 2014, and 2017).

The following five sections provide additional information about the national and international datasets as well as the international and national trend datasets.

U.S. Data Files and Data Resources

PIAAC Cycle 2

Note that some data in the public-use data files will be suppressed due to confidentiality concerns for respondents. The unsuppressed data will be available in the U.S. restricted-use data files, along with more detailed information, such as continuous age and earnings variables.

U.S. Household State and County Estimates and Resources (PIAAC Cycle 1)

Estimates of adults’ literacy and numeracy skills for all U.S. states and counties are accessible through an interactive mapping tool; the U.S. PIAAC Skills Map: State and County Indicators of Adult Literacy and Numeracy. These estimates are displayed through heat maps and summary card displays. The skills map also provides estimates of the precision of its indicators and facilitates statistical comparisons among states and counties. State- and county-level estimates are available for six age groups (16-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64 and 65-74) and four education groups (less than high school, high school diploma or GED, some college - no degree or attained associate’s degree, and bachelor’s degree or higher). Additionally, the skills map gives users access to selected demographic variables from the 2013-2017 American Community Survey (ACS).

The state and county estimates are based on the combined 2012/2014/2017 PIAAC data and are produced using an advanced statistical method referred to as small area estimation (SAE). Additional resources and information on the skills map and the development of these estimates are available on the U.S. State and County Estimates Resources page and the PIAAC State and County Estimation Methodology Report.

State and county estimates from PIAAC Cycle 2 will be available in 2026.

If you have any questions, please contact Holly Xie at holly.xie@ed.gov.

International Data Files and Data Resources

The international PIAAC data files can be found on the PIAAC Data and Tools page of the international OECD PIAAC website.

PIAAC Cycle 2

PIAAC Cycle 2 data files are available for 31 countries/economies that participated in 2023.

The international data files can be downloaded in SAS, SPSS, or CSV formats. Additional resources on the PIAAC Data and Tools page include:

• International codebooks
• Data compendia for background variables and cognitive variables
• Background questionnaires:
• International Master Questionnaire
• Country-specific background questionnaires
• SAS and Stata macros and user guides
• International PIAAC Technical Report

The PIAAC data can be analyzed in SPSS and SAS using a stand-alone program known as the International Database (IDB) Analyzer. Access the IDB Analyzer here.

International Trend Data Files and Data Resources

The restricted-use data files for the 1994 U.S. International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and 2003 U.S. Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (ALL) with rescaled literacy (IALS and ALL) and numeracy (ALL) scores are available on the IALS Data Files and ALL Data Files publication pages, respectively. These files allow for trend analysis with the PIAAC data and include international trend variables with PIAAC. For more information on use of these files, see the blog Rescaled Data Files for Analyses of Trends in Adult Skills.

The U.S. trend data can be downloaded in SPSS format. The IALS and ALL trend data can be analyzed in SPSS and SAS using a stand-alone program known as the International Database (IDB) Analyzer. Codebooks and user guides are available with the data files. The user guides provide information on using the IALS and ALL data files with the IDB Analyzer. Access the IDB Analyzer here.

National Trend Data Files and Data Resources

The restricted-use data files for the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) with rescaled literacy scores for household and prison are available on the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) Data Files publication pages. These files allow for trend analysis with the PIAAC data and include national trend variables for household and prison with PIAAC. For more information on use of these files, see the blog Rescaled Data Files for Analyses of Trends in Adult Skills.

The U.S. trend data can be downloaded in SPSS format. Codebooks and a user guide is available with the data files. The NALS trend data can be analyzed in SPSS and SAS using a stand-alone program known as the International Database (IDB) Analyzer, with some modifications described in the user guide. Access the IDB Analyzer here.