The Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics Program: Thinking globally in a regional context

The Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) program is a regional assessment that aims to set a common approach to assessing the learning outcomes of students at Grade 5. As an alternative to international large-scale assessments and national assessments, SEA-PLM has developed a set of assessment and survey instruments for the Southeast Asian region. Designed to be a system-level monitoring tool of educational quality and equity, SEA-PLM covers four domains: mathematics, reading, writing and global citizenship. The assessment also includes questionnaires that gather important contextual information from students, parents, teachers and school principals. A key feature of the SEA-PLM assessment is that it has been developed on the basis of an assessment framework (UNICEF & SEAMEO, 2017) that was specially designed to suit the context of ASEAN and Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) member countries. The purpose of this paper is to share information on SEA-PLM regional- and country- level capacity development activities, which are a defining feature of the SEA-PLM initiative. It provides a record of program activities to date and describes the program's distinguishing features, goals and objectives as it moves into its first cycle of data with reporting planned for 2020. Key lessons learnt from the program's activities are examined, which may have important applications for other countries involved in developing large-scale assessment programs. The paper concludes with a reflection of how the SEA-PLM program constitutes a critical component of participating countries' SDG reporting requirements and offers a new regional tool to better respond to the changing needs of students in the 21st century.