Exploring the Need for CEFR-Based Receptive English Assessment in Indonesian Junior High Schools

Abstract

English teaching in Indonesian junior high schools has shifted toward a competence-based approach under the current curriculum, whose learning outcomes are broadly comparable to CEFR A1–A2 receptive descriptors. However, classroom-based instruments for assessing the receptive skills at these levels remain limited. This study explored the assessment needs of grade 9 students and teachers before developing a CEFR-based receptive English assessment. Using a qualitative descriptive design, data were collected from 30 students and two English teachers at a public junior high school in Bogor, Indonesia, through a Likert-scale questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and analysis of nine Grade 7–9 assessment documents. Students agreed with all targeted receptive components (83.3–96.7%) and identified listening as their greatest difficulty (73.3%). The teachers were aware of the CEFR but did not apply its descriptors because they lacked a practical classroom model. The assessment documents contained tasks compatible with A1–A2 descriptors but had limited listening content and no CEFR-level labels. These findings provide a blueprint for the instrument: tasks indexed to A1–A2 descriptors, a substantial listening component, familiar school and daily-life contexts, and scoring keys with level-interpretation guidance. The study contributes needs-based evidence for CEFR assessment development at the junior secondary level, where such evidence remains limited.