Person:
Sedmik, Elisabeth
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Global Practice on Education
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Last updated
January 31, 2023
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Publication
Unraveling a Secret: Vietnam's Outstanding Performance on the PISA Test
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-04)This paper seeks to find an empirical explanation of Vietnam's outstanding performance on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2012. Only a few developing countries participate in the assessment. Those who do, with the unique exception of Vietnam, are typically clustered at the lower end of the range of the Programme for International student Assessment scores. The paper compares Vietnam's performance with that of a set of seven developing countries from the 2012 assessment's data set, using a cut-off per capita GDP (in 2010 purchasing power parity dollars) of $10,000. The seven developing countries' average performance lags Vietnam's by more than 100 points. The "Vietnam effect" is difficult to unscramble, but the paper is able to explain about half of the gap between Vietnam and the seven countries. The analysis reveals that Vietnamese students may be approaching their studies with higher diligence and discipline, their parents may have higher expectations, and the parents may be following up with teachers regarding those expectations. The teachers themselves may be working in a more disciplined environment, with tabs being kept on their own performance as teachers. Vietnam may also be benefiting from investments in pre-school education and in school infrastructure that are disproportionately higher when compared with Vietnam's per capita income level. -
Publication
Enhancing School Quality in Vietnam through Participative and Collaborative Learning
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-08-15)The Vietnam Escuela Nueva (VNEN) program incorporates and integrates several innovative and globally recognized practices including: (a) Participative and collaborative learning; (b) Self-paced learning guides; (c) Student government; (d) Formative assessment; (e) Application or real-life oriented learning, with community integration; and (f) Teacher professional networks. The combination of these elements is intended to spur a transformative and powerful learning experience that produces the kinds of new skills and competencies expected of children in the 21st century. This report presents the findings and conclusions of an Impact Evaluation (IE) study of the VNEN program. The study compares the experience of students and school communities from VNEN schools with the experience from a randomly selected comparators group of traditional schools. The cohort comparison of children from third grade to fifth grade shows that the VNEN program positively impacted both non-cognitive and cognitive skills of the students.