Malaysia leads Southeast Asia in primary school writing, with 21% of pupils in the top achievement band, far exceeding the regional average of 5%
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has scored top marks in the Writing domain of the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) 2024, according to the Ministry of Education (MOE).
In a statement today, MOE said Malaysia recorded an average score of 480.1 points in the Writing domain, which is 29.2 points higher than the regional average, and the highest among all Southeast Asian countries participating in SEA-PLM 2024.
MOE said the results were announced in Phnom Penh today.
“A total of 21 per cent of Malaysian pupils are in the highest achievement band, namely Band 5 and above, compared with the regional average of five per cent.
“This achievement reflects pupils’ level of critical thinking, encompassing content, context as well as the process of expressing ideas in writing,” the statement said.
However, MOE noted that achievement gaps among socioeconomic groups, gender, as well as differences in language used at home and in school, still exist and remain key challenges in ensuring more equitable education.
SEA-PLM measures the performance of Year Five pupils across four main domains, namely Reading, Mathematics, Writing and Global Citizenship.
The results for the Reading and Mathematics domains were announced in December last year.
In Malaysia, the assessment involved 4,379 pupils from 158 primary schools, encompassing Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK), Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC), Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT), Sekolah Kebangsaan Asli, Sekolah Agama Bantuan Kerajaan and private schools.
According to the statement, MOE remains committed to improving the quality of the country’s education to be on par with international assessment standards for the benefit of Malaysian children.
