Mathematics TKA Questions Deemed Difficult, Kemendikdasmen: Not Intended to Trap Students
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) has stated that the numerous complaints regarding the difficulty of the mathematics questions in the Academic Ability Test (TKA) are not intended to trap test participants.
The Head of the Basic and Secondary Education Policy Agency (BKPDM) of Kemendikdasmen, Toni Toharudin, acknowledged that his office has received many complaints from student participants about the TKA questions, which were deemed difficult, especially in mathematics, and different from those provided during simulations (try-outs).
“In the field, many students complained about the difficult TKA questions, particularly in mathematics, and we fully understand that some students have expressed this,” said Toni during the Media Meeting on the Implementation of the Academic Ability Test for Junior High School/MTs/equivalent levels in Bekasi City, West Java Province, on Tuesday.
He explained that essentially, the TKA is not merely to test students’ memorisation but also to measure their thinking and reasoning abilities.
Therefore, he firmly stated that the questions provided are not made to trap students.
“I believe the TKA questions are not created to trap students but to reveal how deeply students can think,” he emphasised.
These three indicators, he said, include knowledge, application, and reasoning linked to real-life problems in students’ daily lives.
Rahmawati also emphasised that every content, material, or topic included in the TKA questions has been adjusted to the students’ educational level and has certainly been taught in class.
“For example, algebra, that is, two-variable equations, has indeed been taught in class. However, the application of two-variable equations in the real world is extensive. So, for instance, determining the price from a combination of two goods is a two-variable equation,” said Rahmawati.
She assessed that habituating the use of mathematical concepts in various real-world problem contexts indeed needs more encouragement.