This paper examines the levels of educational attainment in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam from 1970 to 2030  by reconstructing and projecting levels of educational attainment. While the  study of the past shows that the determination to invest in education has been strong in those six countries, efforts to increase levels of education were implemented at different rates and levels of intensity.  The projections show the legacy of those past efforts. In Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, there will be tangible increases in the  proportion of the working-age population with a tertiary education.  The Philippines will have a dichotomous society, where large proportions of the population will have either tertiary or only primary education. In Indonesia, the bulk of the working-age population will shift from primary in 2000 to secondary by 2030. The projection horizon and the trend type of scenarios do not allow Vietnam to catch up with the other countries in this study.