Analysis of Arabic Proficiency Levels in Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs’ 2022 Decree

The implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum in madrasahs, regulated by the Director General of Islamic Education Decree No. 3211 of 2022, introduces new Learning Outcomes (CP) for Arabic. Although this policy is crucial, there has been no systematic analysis mapping these CP to the international language proficiency framework. This study fills this gap with the aim of mapping and critically analyzing the level of Arabic language proficiency at each phase of learning (Ibtidaiyah to Aliyah) in the decree using the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) standards. Using qualitative document analysis, each LOs descriptor for the four language skills was analyzed and matched to the CEFR proficiency scale. The main results show a systematic and progressive alignment, where LOs are mapped from Pre-A1 level (Phase A) to C1 level (Phase F). This alignment provides an international standard benchmark for the Arabic language curriculum in madrasahs, but it also implies significant challenges related to the development of teaching materials, pedagogical training for teachers, and the design of an assessment system to ensure that these ambitious proficiency targets can be effectively achieved in the classroom.