Basic Education Curriculum and
Assessment Review in Southeast Asia: The
SEA PLM Initiative
by: Dr Ethel Agnes P. Valenzuela
Overview
1. The 35th SEAMEO High Officials Meeting in November 2012 and
the 47th SEAMEC in March 2013 approved the SEA-PLM to
complement global learning Metrics Task Force (LMTF) initiative.
2. SEA does not currently have its own metrics for assessing student
achievement at the primary level. TIMSS and PISA covered lower
secondary. While TIMSS covered 9 year olds, no country in SEA
participated in such assessment
3. SEAMEO plans to develop a common primary education learning
metrics for SEA which will also provide more timely, high quality
data to stakeholders and policy makers for effective reforms and
interventions.
Rationale – UNICEF and SEAMEO INNOTECH
Collaboration on Southeast Asian Primary
learning metric (SEA PLM)
• To develop a common set of tools and protocols for SEA countries to measure
the learning outcomes of children of primary school age.
• To use the SEA-PLM research and development process as an opportunity to
build capacity and strengthen partnerships on learner assessment within and
between SEA countries.
• SEAMEO INNOTECH then was tasked to:
– To provide the technical aspects for the Regional Experts Reference
Group – that includes draft work plan, draft TOR for various mechanisms
and team, introduction to SOLO Taxonomy and Rausch Modelling,
technical sessions, recommend national strategic plan to build countrylevel communities of practices , capacity-building gaps, and training
packages for stakeholders at the national level, as well suggest process
for enhancing national capacity and decision making and provide focal
point for UNICEF
Activities Conducted
• SEAMEO INNOTECH
•
Review SEAMEO member countries
National Curriculum at Primary levels
to identify commonalities and unique
elements within curricula
frameworks and compare this to the
LMTF seven domains and compare
the broad domains of learning as
structured in national core
curriculum frameworks
•
Do a compilation of comparable
grade level curricula expectations or
expected outcomes for children aged
8 to 11 years.
• Australian Council for
Educational Research
(ACER)
• Conduct a desk review of
experiences with primary
learning metrics – and within
PISA and TIMMS – in the region
• To map out what types of LM
have been introduced in which
SEA countries
• Regional experiences with
primary learning metrics
reviewed – including innovative
approaches, issues, and lessons
learned of relevance to the SEA PLM initiative
Basic Education
Curriculum and
Assessment
Comparison
ACER Review of Primary Learning Metric used a simplified framework of
multilevel approaches to assessment
Source:
SEA Approaches to assessment
Countries
Assessment Types
Names of Tests
Cambodia
Hybrid, Regional and
National
EGRA, PASEC, LAS
Lao PDR
Hybrid, Regional,
National
EGRA, PASEC, NLS, ASLO,
Indonesia
Hybrid, Regional,
National
EALAS, Literacy Boost,
TIMSS, PIRLS, LAS
Malaysia
National, International
PSAT, TISS
Myanmar
Hybrid
EALAS
Philippines
Hybrid, International,
National
EGRA, Literacy Boost,
EALAS, Phil-IRI, TIMSS
Source:
SEA Approaches to assessment
Countries
Assessment Types
Names of Tests
Singapore
National, International
CRP, TIMSS, PIRLS
Thailand
Hybrid, National,
International
Nationwide Assessment,
TIMSS
Timor Leste
Hybrid
EGRA, EALAS
Vietnam
Hybrid, National,
Regional,
Reading and Maths
Assessments Study, EGRA,
EALAS, Literacy Boost,
PASEC
Source:
2. SEAMEO INNOTECH’s Primary Education Curriculum
Review
• The purpose of SEA PLM curriculum review is to
survey the primary education curriculum of 11 SEA
countries according to the primary learning metric in
the areas of English, Social Studies, Mathematics,
and Science at the primary level (years 1 to 6).
• The learning metric was developed by the UNESCO
LMTF that serves as a global framework for
measuring learning. This supports advocacy on
MDGs, EFA, and access to education plus learning.
SEA PLM SEAMEO INNOTECH Primary Education Curriculum Review
followed the Global Framework for Learning Domains
SEAMEO INNOTECH Product :
A Review of Primary School Curriculum in Southeast Asian
Countries
Initially, SEAMEO INNOTECH reviewed the
curriculum of 7 SEA countries using the 7
domains for Learning Outcomes under the
LMTF.
The review identified commonalities and
unique elements within curricula frameworks
in the participating countries
The contents were compared using the LMTF
domains
Domain 1 : Physical Well-Being
Countries
Physical Well-Being
Brunei Darussalam
Science 4-6
Cambodia
All subjects 1 to 6
Lao PDR
Science 1-5; Math 4-5
Philippines
Science 4-6
Singapore
Science 1-2
Thailand
Languages 4-6; Math 2-6; Science
2-3; Social Studies 2-6
Domain 2 : Social and Emotional
Countries
Social and Emotional
Brunei
Darussalam
Languages 1-6;Science 1-6
Cambodia
All subjects 1 to 6
Lao PDR
Languages 3-6; Science 1-5
Philippines
Languages 1-6; Science 3 &5; Social Studies 2-6
Singapore
Languages 1, 5-6; Science 1-6; Social Studies 1-6
Thailand
Languages, Science, and Social Studies 1-6
Vietnam
Language, Math, Science and Social Studies 1-6
Domain 3 : Culture and the Arts
Countries
Cultural and the Arts
Brunei Darussalam
Languages and Maths- Gr 1-6
Science 4-6
Cambodia
All subjects Gr 1-6
Lao PDR
Languages 4-6; Maths 1-6; Science 1-4
Philippines
Languages-Gr 1-2; Filipino 1-6;Social Studies 2 -6
Singapore
Maths 1-5; Science 1-2; 4-6;
Thailand
Languages 1-6;Maths 3-6; Social Studies 1-6
Vietnam
Social Studies 1-6
Domain 4 : Literacy and Communication
Countries
Literacy and Communication
Brunei Darussalam
Languages 1-6; Maths 1-3; Science 4-6
Cambodia
All subjects Gr 1-6
Lao PDR
Languages 4-6; Maths 1-6; Science 1-4
Philippines
Languages-Gr 1-2; Filipino 1-6;Social Studies 2 -6
Singapore
Maths 1-5; Science 1-2; 4-6;
Thailand
Languages 1-6;Maths 1-6; Social Studies 1-3
Vietnam
Languages – 1-5; Maths and Sciences 5-6
Domain 5: Learning Approaches and Cognition
Countries
Literacy and Communication
Brunei
Languages 1-6; Maths 1-6; Science 4-6
Darussalam
Cambodia
All subjects Gr 1-6
Lao PDR
Languages 3-6; Maths 2-6; Science 1-5; Social Studies 1-5
Philippines
Languages-Gr 1-5; Science 2-6
Singapore
Languages 1-6; Maths 1-5; Science 4-6; Social Studies 4-6
Thailand
Languages (Thai) 1-6;Maths 1-6; Science 1-4;
Studies 1-5
Vietnam
Languages – 1-5; Maths and Sciences 5-6
Social
Domain 6: Numeracy and Mathematics
Countries
Literacy and Communication
Brunei
Languages 1-6; Maths 1-6; Science 4-6
Darussalam
Cambodia
Language Gr 1; Maths 1-6
Lao PDR
Maths 1-6
Philippines
Maths 1-6; Science 1- 4-6
Singapore
Maths 1-6; Science 1-2
Thailand
Languages (Thai) 1-3;Maths 1-6; Science 3;
Social Studies 3-4
Vietnam
Maths 1- 6
Domain 7:Science and Technology
Countries
Science and technology
Brunei Darussalam
Science 1-6
Cambodia
Science and technology and Social Studies 1-6
Lao PDR
Science and Social Studies 1-5
Philippines
Philippines Gr 1 and 6; Science 3-6
Singapore
Science 1-6
Thailand
Science 1-6
Vietnam
Science and Social Studies 1-6
Agreements in SEA PLM RERG Conference (24-26
September 2013)
 Overall approach
 Preparation of common tools and assessment items will be based on
curriculum standards – identifying common domains of learning across SEA
countries and restructuring tools to reflect the unique values and culture of SEA
 Age of students to be covered in the assessment

Original plan was for two assessments to cover 8 & 11 year olds to allow
tracking of cohort performance.
 However there are countries in SEA such as Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam which
only have 5 years of primary education
 A grade-reference assessment instead of age-referenced assessment was
agreed upon since will have a stronger link to the curriculum and allow for
policy revision
 An assessment covering two primary grade levels is still a long term goal,
however, initially project will start with GRADE 5
Agreements in SEA PLM RERG Conference (24-26
September 2013)
Subject areas to be covered
Maths/Numeracy
Reading and Writing (as separate metrics)
Global Citizenship (main value-added component)
Ways of conducting the assessment
 Language of instruction used in teaching will also
be used as the language of assessment
Use of SOLO Taxonomy
 High level of expertise would be needed to
support of the regional and national teams
THANK YOU