Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education Reduces Math Questions in Senior High School TKA Following Feedback

The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) has incorporated feedback and suggestions regarding insufficient time for mathematics questions in the Academic Ability Test (TKA) for senior high school by reducing the number of questions to 25. Rahmawati, Head of the Education Assessment Centre (Pusmendik) at Kemendikdasmen, stated that the ministry has allocated three minutes per mathematics question in this year’s TKA for senior high school, up from the previous 2.5 minutes per question. She added that there will be no time differences across time zones, meaning the TKA for senior high school will be conducted simultaneously across all regions of Indonesia with the same duration. In addition to the mathematics adjustments, Rahmawati noted that the ministry has also accommodated feedback to limit the TKA to one subject per day for senior high school students, enabling more focused and optimal preparation. This is because the TKA Result Certificate (SHTKA) can be used for the merit-based admission pathway in the New Student Admission System (SPMB). Therefore, Kemendikdasmen has confirmed that this year’s TKA for senior high school will be conducted over four days per session, up from two days last year. ‘Based on feedback, there was a request to avoid testing three subjects in one day, and we have accommodated this, so each student’s testing will no longer take two days but four,’ Rahmawati said. The first session will run from 26 to 29 October, followed by the second session from 2 to 5 November, and special sessions on 31 October to 1 November and 7 to 8 November.