Quality of education in Cambodia,
Lao PDR, and Viet Nam:
Policy messages from PASEC study
2011/2012
CIES, Vancouver, March 9th 2016
PASEC supports the steering of CONFEMEN member countries’ education
systems with the aim of improving the quality of education.
WHERE DOES PASEC OPERATES
25 years of expertise
• Reliable data, and robust and
relevant analysis.
• Strengthened national assessment
capacities.
• Results exploited in education sector
steering and reform.
Vancouver, March 9th 2016
Diagnostic Assessment Methodology in Asia
Countries assessed: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Viet Nam
Grades: Beginning and end of primary school
Subjects: Language of instruction and mathematics
Design: Added-value model & Item Response Theory
Assessment tools: Tests and questionnaires (pupils, teachers, Headmasters)
Year assessed: 2011/2012 school year
Sample assessed (pupils): 10,699 in Cambodia, 5,044 in Lao PDR, 10,727 in Vietnam
Vancouver, March 9th 2016
PASEC Tests and Measurement of Learning Outcomes in Cambodia, Lao PDR
and Vietnam
PASEC tests assess core competencies in the language of instruction and mathematics at the beginning and
the end of primary school. They are designed to measure learning outcomes in the following domains and
processes:
Language
Mathematics
Domains
•
•
•
Reading Comprehension
Listening Comprehension
Writing (late primary only)
•
•
•
Operations and Counting
Measurement
Geometry
Processes
•
•
•
Decipher and Recognize (early primary only)
Retrieve information
Infer and Interpret / Analyze and Appraise
•
•
•
Know and Understand
Apply
Solve a problem
Vancouver, March 9th 2016
Pupil Competencies in Cambodia
Late Primary
Early Primary
23.9%
42.6%
52.7%
66.6%
61.3%
35.6%
21.1%
Added-Value
(pts):
38.9%
12.3%
11.7%
14.8%
18.5%
Khmer
Mathematics
Khmer
Mathematics
+48.2
+31.6
+28.5
Facing Great Difficulties
Intermediate Level
Reached
Vancouver, March 9th 2016
+25.0
Core Competencies
Acquired
Pupil Competencies in Lao PDR
Late Primary
Early Primary
27.0%
56.0%
72.1%
48.0%
30.2%
22.0%
13.8%
Added-Value
(pts):
25.0%
23.3%
41.4%
5.9%
Lao
Mathematics
Lao
+35.3
+35.8
+15.6
Facing Great Difficulties
35.2%
Intermediate Level
Reached
Vancouver, March 9th 2016
Mathematics
+35.0
Core Competencies
Acquired
Pupil Competencies in Viet Nam
Late Primary
50.1%
90.7%
49.9%
9.3%
Vietnamese
Added-Value
(pts):
Facing Great Difficulties
+3.6
Mathematics
+29.2
Intermediate Level
Reached
Vancouver, March 9th 2016
Core Competencies
Acquired
Factors of Quality
Cambodia
- The pupil is a girl (in
Khmer)
- Pupil’s higher
socioeconomic status
- The pupil’s parents are
involved in their school
work
Lao PDR
- Pupil’s higher
socioeconomic status
- Headmaster is a woman
- Higher level of school
equipment
- Private and urban schools
Viet Nam
- The pupil is a girl
- Pupil’s higher socioeconomic
status
- Teacher experience
- Teacher has been trained in the
skills-based approach
- Number of days teacher is absent
- Headmaster is a woman
- Higher level of school equipment
Vancouver, March 9th 2016
Cambodia – Recommendations
• Establish a program aiming to support and monitor pupils with the weakest performance and
adopt differentiated pedagogical approaches in teacher training.
• Integrate high-level cognitive knowledge to a greater extent in teaching practices.
• Set up (free) school canteens, first and foremost in rural and disadvantaged areas and
reinforce the allocation of resources to rural areas: equipment and infrastructure.
• Promote the development of partnerships, especially in rural and disadvantaged areas, so as
to bolster the support provided to schools and increase financial and material resources.
• Encourage parents to monitor their children’s school results.
• Single out pupils who are in difficulty and provide them with adapted support from a very early
stage.
• Opt for a combination of strong and weak students for group work.
Vancouver, March 9th 2016
Lao PDR – Recommendations
• Strengthen language and mathematics teaching through the continuing
training of teachers.
• Improve school management practices: it is important for headmasters to
mobilize all stakeholders around the school life and for a participatory
management to be the motor for school management.
• Strengthen the provision of equitable quality education: school map update,
revision of school furniture allocation, increase of textbook supply and of
pedagogical and material for all children.
• Improve school facilities: water and sanitation, electricity and supply of school
materials.
Vancouver, March 9th 2016
Viet Nam – Recommendations
• Support should be provided to teachers to improve their capacity for
developing assessment instruments to detect pupils in difficulty.
• Implement incentive measures that will enable qualified teachers to work in
good conditions in remote areas.
• Set up policies to support boys in school while ensuring that the performance
level of girls is maintained.
• Improve the financial support of poorest families.
• Improve the provision of free school canteen in disadvantaged areas.
• Implement measures aiming at improving the allocation of didactical material
and school equipment, especially for schools in rural areas.
Vancouver, March 9th 2016
Thank you!
www.pasec.confemen.org