A class at Chu Van An Primary School in the northern province of Nam Dinh (Photo: VNA)The SEA-PLM is a regional programme to assess learning outcomes of Grade 5students to inform policy-making and ensure all children achieve meaningfullearning outcomes.
About 30,000 students from six countries of Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, thePhilippines and Vietnam participated in the first assessment round of SEA-PLMwhich was implemented in 2019.
This first round focused on the 5th grade students and on three learningdomains of reading, writing and mathematics.
In the subject of mathematics, the average score of Vietnamese students was341.55 points while the average score of students of the six countries was304.79 points.
In reading, the Vietnamese students got an average score of 336.46 pointscompared to the average score of the six countries’ students of 300 points.
And in the field of writing, the average score of Vietnamese students was328.01 points while the average score of students of the six countries was304.92 points.
Although achieving high scores compared to other countries, the results showedthat learning outcomes of the students in remote areas were still behind thosein other areas of Vietnam.
Female students' academic performance in mathematics was similar to that ofmale students, but in reading and writing, female students achieved higherresults than male students.
The students from high and medium-income families achieved higher scores andproficiency levels compared to those from low-income families.
The higher the parent's education level, the better the children's academicperformance.
In addition, the occupation of parents and the study conditions at home alsohad a great influence on the learning outcomes of students.
SEA-PLM aims at improving the quality of education through systematicmonitoring of student learning outcomes and assisting the Southeast AsianMinisters of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) member countries to better measureand understand student achievements as a whole and for individual groups byapplying culturally appropriate metrics to learning outcomes in domains ofreading, writing, mathematics and global citizenship.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, along withparticipating in SEA-PLM as a common goal of Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN), Vietnam aimed for some specific goals such as integrating withother countries in the region in education; measuring the educational level of Vietnamcompared to other countries in the region; analysing the current state ofeducation and recommending changes in education policy to improve the qualityof education in Vietnam.
Besides, through the SEA-PLM, Vietnam demonstrated its responsibility for theconstruction and development of the common home of Southeast Asian countries.
SEA-PLM's assessment also served Vietnam’s general education innovation.
From the assessment of the 2018-2021 period, departments of education andtraining said that the ministry needed to standardise the preparation processfor national and international assessment programmes which includes detailedguidance and will be periodically and regularly implemented.
In particular, it was necessary to strengthen the learning assessments formanagement staff, teachers and parents.
To prepare for the SEA-PLM assessment round of 2021-2024, Deputy Minister NguyenHuu Do asked education and training departments and schools to pay moreattention to standardising the assessment process and inform beneficiaries tounderstand the evaluation process in the best way./.
VNA
