Malaysian Year 5 pupils’ performance in the SEA-PLM 2024 assessment remains stable, scoring above the regional average in reading and mathematics
PUTRAJAYA: The performance of Malaysian students in the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) regional assessment has remained stable.
Education director-general Dr Mohd Azam Ahmad said both the Reading and Mathematics domains recorded scores above the regional average despite a slight decline.
For the Reading domain, Malaysia recorded scores above the regional average of 300 points despite a slight decline of five points compared to the 2019 assessment.
The same picture was recorded for the Mathematics domain, where the country’s score again exceeded the regional average of 305 points with a slight five-point decline.
“This means that overall, Malaysian students are at a competitive reading literacy level despite facing learning disruptions,” Mohd Azam said.
He added that this shows the numeracy foundation of Malaysian students is still relatively strong despite various challenges in learning recovery.
The cohort participating in SEA-PLM 2024 were students born in 2013, who underwent home-based teaching and learning for almost two years during the Movement Control Order.
“Learning disruptions at the beginning of this schooling phase are a major factor affecting their mastery of basic skills,” he explained.
Mohd Azam said the trend helps the Ministry of Education design more targeted interventions to ensure students recover and improve their Mathematics skills.
SEA-PLM is a regional assessment organised by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation in collaboration with UNICEF.
The 2024 round assessed 4,379 Year 5 students from 158 schools, with findings only involving the Reading and Mathematics domains this cycle.
Reviewing achievements by proficiency band, 69% of students achieved Band 5 and above for the Reading domain, which is considered a good achievement.
A third of students from low Socioeconomic Status families also managed to achieve Band 5 and above in reading.
For the Mathematics domain, 74% of students achieved Band 5 and above, showing an encouraging trend in basic numeracy proficiency.
“This shows that the initiatives implemented by the Ministry of Education have shown positive implications,” Mohd Azam said.
Initiatives include teacher capacity development, special remedial programmes, and primary school literacy and numeracy programmes.
In terms of gender, female students still outperformed male students in the Reading domain, but the achievement gap is narrowing from nine points to seven points.
For Mathematics, there is no longer an achievement gap between male and female students.
Male students actually recorded a higher percentage in the top Bands 8 and 9 compared to female students for mathematics.
The gap based on socio-economic status remains a major challenge, with significant differences between students from low- and high-income families.
A gap of 23 points was recorded for Reading and 26 points for Mathematics based on family income. – Bernama
