- Vietnamese primary school children excelled in the 2024 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics
- The assessment, conducted in 152 schools across 53 provinces
- Vietnam's strong performance aligns with its previous success in the 2019 SEA-PLM and the 2022 PISA
Vietnamese primary school children continued to be among the region's top performers in mathematics, reading comprehension and writing, the 2024 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics test results show.
The Ministry of Education and Training, which announced the initial findings on Saturday, said detailed figures would be released later this year.
Vietnam, along with Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, and the Philippines, took part in the test.
The assessment was implemented in 152 primary schools in 53 provinces and cities.
SEA-PLM is a five-yearly learning assessment program, led by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), UNICEF, and other international partners. Its aim is to assist countries in tracking student learning outcomes and improving education systems. The survey is voluntary.
Vietnam also led all three subject domains in its first-time participation in the 2019 cycle that covered Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. Vietnam next posted 341.55 in math, 336.46 in reading comprehension, and 328.01 in writing all significantly higher than the regional average of 300–304 points per subject.
The ministry also emphasized that SEA-PLM outcomes in 2019 and 2024 are in line with Vietnam's excellent performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for 15-year-old students. In the most recent 2022 PISA evaluation, Vietnamese pupils were placed second in ASEAN in mathematics, science, and reading, only behind Singapore.
As stated on the SEA-PLM website, the 2024 cycle is important in the post-Covid-19 period by facilitating learning recovery, monitoring education outcomes, and promoting regional sharing on education policy.
The ministry highlighted that Vietnam's involvement in SEA-PLM assists in offering an independent benchmark for evaluating educational quality, informing policy-making, and enhancing learning outcomes.
