Contextualizing cognitive levels of RC questions in the Life Today textbook for grade 12 by Kemdikbud Publisher

Abstract

Abstract

For senior high school students studying English as a foreign language, reading comprehension is an essential ability since it promotes critical literacy development and academic preparedness. Despite the Life Today textbook's formal implementation under the Merdeka X Curriculum, few studies have rigorously investigated whether the reading comprehension questions' cognitive levels correspond with the anticipated development of higher-order thinking abilities. The purpose of this study is to examine the cognitive levels that are reflected in reading comprehension problems from the Life Today textbook for Grade XII across four different text genres. 160 reading comprehension questions from narrative, argumentative, hortatory exposition, and discussion texts were examined using the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy in a qualitative content analysis method. While Applying is subtly included into productive tasks, higher-order thinking abilities, especially Evaluating and Creating, are regularly integrated through assessment and enrichment activities, albeit in lesser quantities. Overall, the findings show that the Life Today textbook supports students' reading literacy and critical thinking abilities in accordance with the Merdeka Curriculum's learning objectives by integrating cognitive demands in an organized and systematic manner.

Keywords: Reading comprehension; Life Today textbook; Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy; cognitive levels; Merdeka Curriculum