A new international test of young people’s “AI literacy” has been announced by the OECD. Providing a global measurement of the competencies to engage with AI, the test is planned to run in 2029 with results expected at the end of 2031. The time line may be long, but as with all OECD assessments the issue is how education systems leaders and educators might respond to it in advance.

AI literacy is a currently hot topic. For many commentators, it is “the” major imperative for education. Multiple definitions and frameworks circulate routinely on social media. Given the OECD’s enduring influence through educational testing, its AI literacy intervention could, then, be consequential in setting the international standard in relation to students’ competencies to engage with AI.
What the OECD test will accomplish is to provide a concrete global definition of AI literacy, subject it to quantitative and comparative measurement, and encourage educators and students to “perform” to the test. This post is an attempt to work through how the OECD AI literacy test will function, and ist potential implications.