Established mid-2019, the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for SEA-PLM plays a technical consultative and advisory role for SEA-PLM activities. By providing independent advice on SEA-PLM methodology and results the TAG provides a broader perspective on technical issues around the learning assessment, incorporating the expertise and experiences of learning assessment experts from around the region and globe. Through adding this additional technical oversight, SEA-PLM further ensures the delivery of high quality and reliable data.

The Chairs and members of the TAG are mandated for one SEA-PLM cycle and are selected by the SEA-PLM Secretariat. Meet the experts who make-up SEA-PLM 2019’s TAG!

TAG Co-Chairs

Dr. Jimin Cho – Korean Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation

Dr. Jimin Cho is a senior researcher and currently the Vice president of the Division of Educational Evaluation at the Korea Institute for Curriculum & Evaluation (KICE) in the Republic of Korea. She has an academic background in education specializing in educational psychology, including a Ph. D. from Michigan State University majoring in educational measurement and evaluation. Her major experience has been in developing the framework for student assessments, specifically in scoring and reporting based on in-depth analysis of various major assessments. Currently she is in charge of all international and national level of student assessments at Korea such as OECD programs, IEA projects, and National Assessment of Educational Achievement. She also currently serves in various capacities as a member of international steering committees for international and national evaluation projects.

Dr. Andres Sandoval Hernandez – University of Bath

Dr. Andres Sandoval is currently a Lecturer in Educational Research at the University of Bath in the UK. Prior to that, he worked as Head of the Research Unit at the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in Hamburg, Germany, and held different academic appointments at the Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA) and the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO). Over the last few years, Dr Sandoval has also been a consultant for the ministries of education of several countries, for the World Bank, IADB, OECD, UNESCO, UIS, and other international organizations. His research interests include developing work around comparative analyses of educational systems using large-scale assessment data with a focus on educational inequalities and civic education.

Expert Members

Professor Esther Sui Chu Ho -  The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Institute of Educational Research

Prof HO is the Professor of Education Administration and Policy and Director of the Hong Kong Centre for International Student Assessment in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Prof HO was the Project Manager of HKPISA-2000 to 2015 for 6 cylces, a Consultant for a number of PISA studies in several Chinese societies, and a Fulbright Scholar at Johns Hopkins University (2010). Furthermore, she has been a teaching and research assistant in the University of British Columbia, Canada and a teaching consultant for the World Bank in the District Primary Educational Program in India. Prof HO was also Primary and Secondary School teacher in Hong Kong.

Professor Nordin Abd Razak – School of Educational Studies, Universit Sains Malaysia

Dr Nordin Abd Razak is a Professor at the School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia. His areas of research interests include international large-scale assessment data analysis (such as TIMSS, PISA), quantitative research methodology, measurement and evaluation and applied statistical data analysis. He is a proficient instructor for large-scale assessments for secondary data analysis on TIMSS and PISA and is member and advisor to a range of different committees and projects for large-scale learning assessment including the Student Outcome Measures (SOM) Project, Malaysia’s national level research committee, the Network on Education Quality Monitoring in the Asia Pacific (NEQMAP) and Hong Kong Centre for International Student Assessment (HKCISA). Currently, Dr Nordin is the Senior Research Advisor/consultant for Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER), Malaysia and at the university level is the Statistical Advisor for the Institute of Postgraduate Studies.

Dr. Eugenio Gonzalez – Education Testing Service Research Institute and International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement

Dr. Eugenio Gonzalez, has a vast and varied experience in the field of large-scale assessments in education. He is a Principal Research Project Manager at ETS and the Director of the IEA-ETS Research Institute. His previous positions include Head of the IEA’s Research & Analysis Unit, and Director of Quality Control and Fi­eld Operations at the US National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), and Director of Operations and Data Analysis for TIMSS and PIRLS.

Ministry of Education officials from across Southeast Asian nations came together in July 2019 at the 10th Regional Steering Committee meeting to discuss the first assessment round of Southeast Asia Learning Primary Learning Metric (SEA-PLM 2019). Looking ahead to 2020 in preparation for the final steps of this long-awaited assessment round, this meeting built regional consensus for the effective dissemination and use of results.

Consultation platforms such as the 10th Regional Steering Committee meeting are vital in aligning national and regional approaches, and to coordinate resources and efforts in the coming months to explore communication appraoches and reporting strategies. 

Enjoy watching this video about the proceeding of the 10th Regional Steering Committee for SEA-PLM to stimulate future discussion around results and create new learning opportunities.                                                             

A key distinguishing factor of the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) is that it is entirely embedded into existing national and regional systems and structures. At the centre of its governance structure sits the Regional Steering Committee (RSC). Composed of core and honorary members, core being those countries participating in SEA-PLM, and honorary being non-participating ASEAN and SEAMEO Countries and key partners, the RSC is responsible for the strategic direction of SEA-PLM.

In July 2019, the 10^th Regional Steering Committee for SEA-PLM was held in Bangkok. 2019 represents a significant milestone for SEA-PLM with data being collected for the first assessment round SEA-PLM (SEA-PLM 2019). The meeting focused on preparing countries for the analysis, dissemination and use of results in 2020. Held over two and half days, countries and participants shared their experiences of using national, regional and international large-scale learning assessments to improve learning policy, looking particularly at the possibilities for analysis and ways to maximise use of data. Reflecting on and integrating these experiences are essential for a new regional learning assessment such as SEA-PLM.

Hosted by SEAMEO Secretariat and UNICEF EAPRO, the meeting was attended by represetatives from the six participating countries Cambodia, Lao PDR, Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam, as well as honorary representatives from Brunei Darussalam, Singapore and Thailand, and key partners, the Australian Council for Educational Research, UNESCO Bangkok and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

SEA-PLM is designed to create regional dialogue around quality learning in Southeast Asia, the RSC provides the platform for this exchange.

As well as these members, joining the Committee for the first time were Co-Chairs of the newly created Technical Advisory Group (TAG). Established for the purpose of providing independent scientific and technical advice on SEA-PLM methodology and data, Co-Chairs and learning assessment experts Dr Andres Sandoval from the University of Bath and Dr Jimin Cho, Director of the Korean Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) proved themselves to be valuable additions to the discussion.

Along with other key partners, both Co-Chairs presented important insights into the realities of planning and implementing for the analysis, reporting and dissemination phases, supported countries to look towards the year ahead and deepen their understanding of the steps and issues that require national consideration and agreement.

SEA-PLM 2019 results will be captured in one main regional report and six country level reports. The process to developing, reviewing and releasing these reports is fraught with a multitude of variables with the potential to impact the use of results. It is vital to the success of SEA-PLM 2019 that all activities and potential barriers are mapped out and planned in detail.

As UNICEF Regional Education Advisor Francisco Benavides and Co-Chair of the Regional Steering Committee stressed, it is through the collective effort at the regional and national level that has both enabled the creation of SEA-PLM and will be central to its success. With 2020 to present increasingly more technical and logistical challenges on a constrained calendar, it is ever more important that these partnerships are maximized on to deliver the vision of SEA-PLM.

"Learning means knowledge, and getting a job", said 10-year-old Phoudthalith, sitting under the shade of a tree outside her small classroom in Vientiane.

For Phoudthalith, and many of her friends, the priority is getting good grades in Lao language and mathematics, learning by rote from the blackboard. When asked about what the most fun part of learning is, Phoudthalith looks uncertain about how to answer.

Across Southeast Asia, teachers, schools and governments are trying to move from a knowledge-based curriculum to one based on competency, with a focus on critical thinking and developing skills that can be transferred outside the classroom. Lao PDR is in the process of transforming its primary school curriculum, improving teacher training and placing resources where they can best help student learning outcomes.

But to do this, Governments need to know where they are at right now and how to develop strategies to improve.

One of the key tools for this is the Southeast Asian Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM), being of UNICEF and Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO), in close collaboration with the Ministries of Education in the region. 

Put plainly, SEA-PLM is a regional learning assessment - the large-scale collection of data on student learning outcomes from schools across Southeast Asia, and the use of that information to inform curriculum development, teacher training and education policy.

Collecting this data in line with standardized practices in places like Lao PDR presents many challenges for the teams charged with coordination and communication.

From calling hundreds of schools to ask for up-to-date student lists to training and organising 216 test administrators to travel to schools across the country, the Lao technical team based at the Research Institute for Educational Sciences (RIES) in Vientiane have learnt many valuable lessons when it comes to planning and communication. These are skills that not only apply to SEA-PLM, but can be used in the design and management of national assessments.

Just as a microscope is adjusted to the correct lens to see specific cells, so does the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) provide the tools and criteria to meet a more dynamic approach to learning. Students complete assessment booklets in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics and global citizenship, engaging in both knowledge and competency based questions.

But SEA-PLM goes deeper than this.

Test administrators also have parents, teachers and principals complete questionnaires to gain an understanding on the context in which children learn. What was the level of pre-reading before entering school? Is gender an issue? Are students being supported to do their homework and do they have access to learning material at home? SEA-PLM enables deeper level analysis of why students are and aren't learning well.

The Lao technical team have been working in collaboration with the UNICEF Lao Country Office and the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) to prepare for the collection of data for many months now. From the 30^th April until 8^th May Lao PDR implemented data collection for SEA-PLM.

Now, the Lao technical team members will begin marking and coding the written answers in the booklets into a code that can be compared against tests in other countries and other languages. The results from all six Southeast Asian nations involved will be compiled in one unique and complex regional database to allow reliable analysis on the level of student outcomes and equity at the regional, national and sub-national level.

The learning assessment will give an empirical snapshot of how countries, schools, pupils are faring in specific areas according to their environment for instance, type of difficulties in reading comprehension between socio-economic backgrounds or how girls and boys are learning. 

For each country, the data will provide the opportunity to make informed decisions on how to shape policy and where to place resources.

For the individuals involved in the data collection and analysis, there will be specific skills learned that can translate to other areas of research and hopefully, a broadening of their understanding about what education could and should look like in cities and villages across Lao PDR.

And for children like Phoudthalith, and perhaps her children in the future, the idea of learning might be less about remembering what gets written on the blackboard, but how to learn and where that might take them.