Singaporean tertiary students has overestimated their level of proficiency in digital literacy skills, including in word processing and spreadsheets, according to a study titled Perception and Reality.
The study was conducted by International Computer Driving License (ICDL) Asia, and it measured the students’ actual information and communication technology (ICT) literacy standards against their perceived proficiency in such skills, Todayonline reported on July 20, 2017.
373 Singaporean students, who were mostly between 20 and 22 years old from higher education institutions in Singapore, took part in the research. Nearly 90 per cent of the participants rated their skills from “fair” to “excellent.”
Their ICDL tests however revealed that the participants’ average competency standard stood at 55 per cent. This was “relatively low” compared to the global passing standard mark of 75 per cent.
For the study, the students were tested on various modules, such as web browsing, file and data management, word processing and spreadsheets, in a 20-question online practical test. These modules were mapped to the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) framework under the Ministry of Education.
The results showed that although the perceived proficiency levels for word processing and spreadsheets were 68 per cent and 60 per cent respectively, the actual proficiency levels stood at around 45 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.