Fernando Moncada ^1* Romualdo Ibáñez ¹ Victor Kuperman ²

• ¹ Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaiso, Chile
• ² McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Chile and other Latin American countries consistently demonstrate the lowest scores in the international surveys of foundational information-processing skills. This paper examines the effect of formal education on the literacy and numeracy performance of Chilean adults and compares this effect with that observed in Latin American countries with similar informationprocessing skills. Using data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), we conducted a comparative analysis of literacy and numeracy skills in the Chilean population relative to Mexico, Peru, and Ecuador. Our analysis revealed that, regardless of the years of formal education, the populations of these countries do not achieve the a level 3 in literacy and numeracy skills (oin PIAAC's five-level scale), which is considered the minimum requirement for effective participation in today's technologically-driven economy and society. It was We also observed that Chileans at higher levels of formal education (with the a bachelor's or higher university degree) are on par with or exceed the literacy and numeracy skills of the best-performing Latin American country, Mexico. Less educated Chileans, however, lagged behind the education-matched groups of Mexicans and ranked with the lowest-performing countries like Peru and Ecuador, in both skills. We discuss the findings in the context of past and ongoing reforms in the Chilean school system and highlight their importance for educators and policy-makers in Latin America, particularly in terms of the effectiveness of the education system in developing crucial competencies for personal and professional success.