PIAAC Cycle 2 assessment framework: Adaptive problem solving

This chapter defines the concept of adaptive problem solving (APS) in the second cycle of PIAAC. The concept of APS accounts for the fact that we need to be vigilant, adaptive, and willing to modify our plans when interacting with the social, physical, and technological world of the 21st century. In this framework chapter, the cognitive and metacognitive processes that successful people engage into when solving problems and when adapting to changing conditions are described. In this, the PIAAC assessment of APS draws from a large set of information contexts and task dimensions that drive overall APS performance and individual proficiency levels. Several example items, considerations on item scoring and data capturing as well as a thorough discussion of the relation between APS and other competencies provide a comprehensive overview of the APS measurement framework for PIAAC.