America's skills challenge: millennials and the future

This US report uses data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to focus attention on young adults born after 1980 who were 16-34 years of age at the time of the assessment. The authors chose to center attention on this cohort for several key reasons. First, these young adults include the most recent products of US educational systems. Second, according to recent reports, they have attained the most years of schooling of any cohort in American history. And, finally, these young 'millennials' will shape the economic and social landscape of the US...  [+] Show more

This US report uses data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to focus attention on young adults born after 1980 who were 16-34 years of age at the time of the assessment. The authors chose to center attention on this cohort for several key reasons. First, these young adults include the most recent products of US educational systems. Second, according to recent reports, they have attained the most years of schooling of any cohort in American history. And, finally, these young 'millennials' will shape the economic and social landscape of the US for many years to come. The report highlights that, although millennials may be on track to be the most educated generation ever, they consistently score below many of their international peers in literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments (PS-TRE). This report disaggregates the PIAAC data for millennials, the cohort born after 1980. It contains a summary of key findings and detailed supporting data. The results help to shed light on the growing inequality of opportunity in the US and the impact this has on both skills acquisition and outcomes for both current and future generations. Key questions addressed are: How do the average scores of US millennials compare with those in other participating countries? How do US top-performing and lower-performing millennials compare to their international peers? What is the degree of inequality in the score distribution? How do millennials with different levels of educational attainment perform over time and in relation to their peers internationally? What impact do demographic characteristics have on the performance of US millennials?; Edited excerpts from publication.