Bangkok, March 2026 - A series of SEA-PLM country planning meetings and National Steering Committee meetings in Cambodia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, and Viet Nam brought ministries, technical teams, and partners together to examine the 2024 results, reflect on SEA-PLM Initiative 2, and map out what needs to happen next to strengthen foundational learning across the region. Initiative 2: Evidence-to-Policy linkages is SEA-PLM's new programme strategy in supporting countries to translate SEA-PLM evidence into meaningful actions through policy dialogues, research, capacity development, and effective interventions.

While each country meeting responded to a different national context, the shared direction was clear. SEA-PLM evidence is being brought closer to national priorities, not only to understand what students know and can do, but also to inform curriculum reform, teacher support, assessment practices, and classroom-level action.

SEA-PLM Country Planning meeting in VietNam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and The Philippines

In the Philippines, discussions focused on how SEA-PLM evidence can continue to support national education reforms. Through Initiative 2, the country has been working to strengthen teachers’ skills in assessment through capacity-building workshops and curriculum mapping exercises. The meeting also provided space for stakeholders to look more closely at the country’s results and discuss what they mean for curriculum reform, teaching and learning, and assessment practices. The discussion underscored the need to keep “moving the needle forward on foundational learning.”

In Lao PDR, the conversation centred on how SEA-PLM evidence can be systematically used to support the national education reform currently underway, particularly within the 6+3+3 structure. Discussions explored how findings from SEA-PLM can inform reform priorities through Initiative 2, with an emphasis on item-by-item analysis to generate more detailed insights into student performance in reading and writing. These insights can help identify specific learning gaps that may be addressed through curriculum refinement and targeted interventions. Participants also highlighted the importance of connecting the evidence with continuous professional development for teachers, so that training can be sustained and translated into classroom practice over time.

In Cambodia, the planning discussions were closely linked to implementation. Participants reflected on writing instruction, school improvement, assessment practices, and the need to better understand what is happening in classrooms and why. The meeting showed strong interest in turning SEA-PLM evidence into more practical guidance for teachers and schools. One reflection pointed to the importance of helping teachers “translate the band into teaching guidance and how to teach better,” showing the need to make assessment findings more useful for classroom practice.

In Viet Nam, the meeting looked strongly to the future. Discussions connected SEA-PLM evidence with the implementation of the 2018 curriculum, the shift toward student-centred learning, teacher training, digital transformation, and support for more inclusive education. Viet Nam also used the meeting to explore how Initiative 2 can respond to national priorities while contributing to the broader regional agenda ahead.

SEA-PLM Regional Secretariat and National Team during the discussions

At the same time, the regional discussion went beyond the countries that hosted meetings in March. SEA-PLM’s 2026 workplan, presented at the Philippine meeting, noted that the planning and National Steering Committee discussions in Cambodia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, and Viet Nam would be followed by consultations with Myanmar and Malaysia. The update also highlighted capacity building on Curriculum Mapping as part of the agenda. This shows that even when SEA-PLM was not holding an in-country meeting in March, the process continued through regional consultations and curriculum-focused work. These efforts help connect assessment results with curriculum improvement and classroom practice.

In Cambodia, participants spoke about the value of helping teachers “translate the band into teaching guidance and how to teach better,” pointing to the need to make assessment findings more useful in the classroom. In the Philippines, the discussion underscored the need to keep “moving the needle forward on foundational learning,” while in Lao PDR the concern returned to how training can be sustained and translated into practice over time. Viet Nam, meanwhile, pushed the conversation toward how evidence can better support curriculum reform, teacher development, and stronger learning outcomes.

Taken together, the country planning meetings showed how SEA-PLM is becoming a more active platform for policy reflection and learning across the region. The value of SEA-PLM now lies not only in producing regional data, but in helping countries ask the next questions: what the results mean, where the learning gaps are, what reforms are already underway, and how evidence can support more targeted action.

As countries prepare for the next regional discussions and the road to SEA-PLM 2029 begins to take shape, the call from these meetings is clear. Keep the dialogue active, keep the evidence close to policy, and make sure the next steps lead back to the classroom, where foundational learning is shaped every day.

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SEA-PLM is supported by the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund (AKCF) and the UK Mission to ASEAN under the ASEAN-UK Supporting the Advancement of Girls’ Education (ASEAN-UK SAGE) Programme. Its content is the sole responsibility of the SEA-PLM Regional Secretariat and does not necessarily reflect the views of AKCF and ASEAN-UK SAGE.”