Vietnamese primary school students are among the top in Southeast Asia in Math, Reading, and Writing.

Vietnamese primary school students continue to be in the leading group

On May 10, the Ministry of Education and Training informed that at the 15th meeting of the Southeast Asia Primary School Learning Outcomes Assessment (SEA-PLM) Regional Steering Committee in April 2025 in Malaysia, with the participation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training Delegation, the SEAMEO Secretariat discussed the preliminary results of SEA-PLM 2024.

Accordingly, Vietnamese primary school students continue to be in the leading group in all three areas of Mathematics, Reading and Writing among the 7 participating countries. Detailed results on scores and rankings will be announced at the end of 2025.

Before starting a new cycle (5 years) of the Southeast Asia Primary School Performance Measurement (SEA-PLM), all 11 Southeast Asian countries were invited to continue to participate as members.

SEA-PLM cycle 2024 has the participation of 7 countries: Cambodia, East Timor, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam.

Vietnam has successfully implemented the pilot survey in 2023 at 30 primaryeducation institutions in 9 provinces and cities and the official survey in 2024 at 152 primary education institutions in 53 provinces and cities nationwide.

Achievements from the first cycle

Vietnam first participated in SEA-PLM in the 2019 cycle. This cycle was launched from 2012–2015 and implemented from 2016–2020, with a pilot survey in 2018 and a formal survey in 2019. SEA-PLM was developed in consultation and coordination among Southeast Asian countries through the Regional Steering Committee and the SEAMEO Secretariat.

Regional results and comparative data for the 2019 cycle were released in December 2020, covering 6 countries: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam. Vietnamese primary school students ranked first in all 3 areas of the survey. The scores of Vietnamese students are as follows:

Math: 341.55 points (regional average is 304.79);

Reading comprehension: 336.46 points (regional average is 300);

Writing: 328.01 points (regional average is 304.92);

Similar to international PISA results

According to the assessment of the Ministry of Education and Training, the results of the SEA-PLM cycles 2019 and 2024 of Vietnamese students have clear similarities with the results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), for students aged 15.

In the PISA 2022 exam, the average score of 3 subjects of Vietnamese students ranked 2nd in the ASEAN region, after Singapore. Specifically:

Mathematics: ranked 31st/81 countries/territories;

Science : ranked 35/81 countries/territories;

Reading: ranked 34th/81 countries/territories;

Vietnamese students have the highest math scores after Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea when calculated according to the PISA index of socio-economic conditions.

Basis for national education policy recommendations

The SEA-PLM aims to assess how well primary school students are meeting the curriculum objectives in Southeast Asian countries, particularly in the areas of Reading, Writing, Mathematics and Global Citizenship. It is the first program to use the ASEAN Common Values-Based Model, building a complex assessment framework to measure the ability to apply knowledge and skills in practice.

The program is implemented every five years, providing a basis for countries to monitor their progress in primary education. SEA-PLM is also the first program to measure writing ability in different writing systems using a common scale, and to collect information from students, teachers, schools and parents through tests and questionnaires.

SEA-PLM has coordinated with many international partners such as: UNICEF, World Bank, Korea - ASEAN Development Fund (AKCF),...

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam participates in SEA-PLM to objectively assess the quality of education compared to the region, analyze the current situation and propose educational policies to improve the quality of national education. This is also an opportunity for Vietnam to deeply integrate in the field of education and demonstrate its role and responsibility in building the ASEAN common home.

The SEA-PLM results provide valuable information to help Vietnamese policy makers and education managers refer to international experiences and improve education quality, preparing students well for the challenges of reality and the future.

The Southeast Asia Primary School Learning Outcomes Assessment Programme (SEA-PLM) is an initiative of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), the United Nations Children’s Fund Regional Office and the UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO). The main focus of the programme is to support member countries in developing effective learning assessment systems that enable countries to monitor student learning outcomes and develop improved policies, thereby contributing to more equitable and meaningful education for all children in the region.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/hoc-sinh-tieu-hoc-viet-nam-thuoc-nhom-dan-dau-dong-nam-a-ve-toan-doc-hieu-viet-post878793.html