Official results of SEA-PLM 2019 were launched by the SEA-PLM Secretariat, co-chaired by United Nations Children’s Fund East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (UNICEF EAPRO) and Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) in December 2020.
This assessment, known as SEA-PLM 2019, measured learning outcomes for children enrolled in Grade 5 in six countries: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Viet Nam. It provided countries with data to ensure a better understanding of children’s performance in reading, writing and mathematics. For the first time, global citizenship attitudes, values and behavior of children were also measured by a large-scale learning assessment at primary education level. Moreover, SEA-PLM 2019 used a series of background questionnaires to collect extensive information about children, classrooms, schools, teachers, head teachers, parents and communities. The report of the study shows very important data concerning inequities of learning for disadvantaged children in the region alongside other findings.
At the launch event organized in Bangkok, Thailand on December 1, 2020, Ms Karin Hulshof, UNICEF EAPRO Regional Director, and Dr Ethel Agnes Pascua-Valenzuela, SEAMEO Secretariat Director, emphasized the joint commitment in developing SEA-PLM as a mechanism to improve basic education systems to ensure all children develop foundational learning in Southeast Asia. The launch event proceeded with a series of presentations with the focus on key regional trends and policy implications associated with SEA-PLM 2019 results.
On 2 December 2020, representatives from SEA-PLM participating countries and experts were invited to participate in the policy discussion on SEA-PLM 2019 results.