Analysis of Upper Primary Students‘ Critical Reading Skills in Surakarta Based on School Accreditation

This study aims to describe the critical reading skills of upper primary students in elementary schools of Surakarta City. The researchers also analyzed the differences in critical reading skills of upper primary students from A-accredited and B-accredited elementary schools. This type of research is descriptive qualitative research. Informants in the study come from 4 A-accredited elementary schools and 4 B-accredited elementary schools consisting of 2 fourth grade students, 2 fifth grade students and 2 sixth grade students per school (6 students per school). Critical reading ability was measured by using a written test instrument followed by in-depth interviews to explore six aspects of critical reading skills, namely: accuracy, clarity, precision, depth, relevance and logic. Competency analysis of students refers to Bahasa Indonesia Basic Competencies for primary students of Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture Number 37 of 2018. The result of the study shows that the students in A-accredited schools have better critical reading skills in the aspects of accuracy, clarity and relevance. Students in sixth grade master the aspects of critical reading more than the students in fourth grade and fifth grade.