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Kurikulum Merdeka Explained: A Parent's Guide to Indonesian Primary School (SD)

Published: 25.10.2026·Updated: 25.10.2026

Maya Putri

Early Childhood Education Specialist

Kurikulum Merdeka Explained: A Parent's Guide to Indonesian Primary School (SD)

Kurikulum Merdeka explained simply: Indonesia's national curriculum splits the 6 years of primary school (SD) into 3 phases, with Phase A for Grades 1-2, Phase B for Grades 3-4 and Phase C for Grades 5-6. The report card (rapor) gives one mark and a written description per subject. The old P5 project became co-curricular activities in 2025, and numeracy is checked through the national assessment and the Grade 6 TKA test.

Is Kurikulum Merdeka still in use in 2026?

Yes. Kurikulum Merdeka is still the national curriculum, and schools may also keep using Kurikulum 2013. The legal basis is Ministerial Regulation 12/2024, amended by Permendikdasmen 13/2025.

Many parents read headlines about "deep learning" and assume a new curriculum is coming. In a July 2025 press release, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) described pembelajaran mendalam, or deep learning, as a teaching approach: children should understand a concept fully instead of memorising it. The curriculum stays; the ministry wants the teaching to change.

Three changes from Permendikdasmen 13/2025 reach SD classrooms. "Profil Pelajar Pancasila" became "Profil Lulusan" (graduate profile), the P5 project gave way to more flexible co-curricular activities, and Coding and Artificial Intelligence (Koding dan Kecerdasan Artifisial, KKA) became an elective from Grade 5. A revision to the learning outcomes in June 2026 only touched Religion and Character Education, so the maths targets for SD are unchanged.

Phases A, B and C: which grades, and what maths is expected?

A phase (fase) is a 2-year block with one set of learning outcomes, called capaian pembelajaran (CP). Teachers can decide what to cover in the first year and what in the second, as long as the outcome is met by the end of the phase.

Phase	Grades	Typical age	Maths expected by the end of the phase
Phase A	Grades 1-2	6-8	whole numbers to 100, adding and subtracting to 20 with objects, halves and quarters
Phase B	Grades 3-4	8-10	numbers to 10,000, multiplication and division to 100, equivalent fractions, decimals and percentages
Phase C	Grades 5-6	10-12	numbers to 1,000,000, LCM and GCF (KPK and FPB), operations with fractions, ratio, area, perimeter and angles

The table summarises decree 046/H/KR/2025 of the curriculum agency BSKAP. Maths there has 5 strands: Numbers, Algebra, Measurement, Geometry, and Data Analysis and Probability.

A typical case: a Grade 4 child who is still shaky on multiplication to 100 technically has until the end of Phase B. The trouble is that Phase C builds fractions and ratio on top of multiplication, so a small gap in Grade 4 often shows up as a big one in Grade 5.

How to read a Kurikulum Merdeka report card

A Kurikulum Merdeka rapor shows one final mark per subject plus a description of what the child has and has not mastered yet. The description tells you more than the number.

Teachers build the final mark from end-of-unit tests and projects, together with what they observed during lessons. Co-curricular activities get their own section, usually as a written description. The exact layout differs between schools, since each school produces its rapor through the e-Rapor system and its own policies.

Reading it takes 5 steps:

Skip the numbers at first and read the descriptions for Maths and Bahasa Indonesia.
Mark phrases such as "perlu bimbingan" (needs guidance) or "perlu ditingkatkan" (needs improvement). Those are the weak topics.
Match each topic to the phase target in the table above.
Compare with last semester's rapor: is it the same topic again, or a new one?
Ask the class teacher for one example question your child still gets wrong, so home practice is aimed at the right thing.

"A line like 'needs guidance with operations on fractions' on a Grade 5 rapor is worth more than a mark of 78. It tells you what to practise this week." Maya Putri, Algonova

The rapor matters more as junior high approaches. Marks from Grade 4 to the first semester of Grade 6 feed into the achievement track of SPMB, the state school admission system, as explained in our guide to report card marks and TKA for state SMP admission.

Father and primary school son reading a Kurikulum Merdeka report card together on the sofa

P5, co-curricular activities and the 8 graduate dimensions

P5, the Pancasila Student Profile Project, was replaced by co-curricular activities from the 2025/2026 school year. These can be cross-subject collaborative learning, the 7 Habits of Great Indonesian Children movement (7 Kebiasaan Anak Indonesia Hebat), or other activities the school designs.

For families, this means the projects that used to need costumes and exhibition materials can now be simpler. Schools still run projects; they just don't have to be big shows.

The activities aim at the 8 graduate profile dimensions in Permendikdasmen 10/2025:

faith and devotion to God
citizenship
critical reasoning
creativity
collaboration
independence
health
communication

Critical reasoning and creativity sit closest to maths and coding, and the KKA elective builds on both. If your child's school has not opened KKA in Grade 5 yet, our article on coding and AI entering the curriculum gives the background, and children can start earlier in coding classes for primary school kids.

Numeracy, AKM and ANBK: how they differ from the maths mark

Numeracy (numerasi) is the ability to use maths to solve everyday problems, while the maths mark on the rapor measures how well a child knows the syllabus. A child can recite the formula for the area of a rectangle and still freeze when asked how many tiles the bedroom floor needs.

AKM (Asesmen Kompetensi Minimum) is the part of the national assessment, Asesmen Nasional (AN), that tests reading literacy and numeracy. ANBK is simply the computer-based way it is delivered.

In SD, not every child sits the national assessment. It goes to a random sample of Grade 5 pupils, at most 30 per school plus 5 reserves, and the results describe the school through its Rapor Pendidikan (education report). AN gives no individual score and has nothing to do with passing a grade.

So there is no need for special "AKM question" tutoring. What helps is practice with long word problems and with explaining the reasoning, including problems that come with a table.

From 2026, Kemendikdasmen designed the TKA for primary schools to be integrated with the national assessment. For parents, the test that matters most in SD is now the Grade 6 TKA.

Primary school girl practising numeracy by measuring floor tiles with a tape measure at home

TKA SD: the Grade 6 test parents ask about most

TKA (Tes Kemampuan Akademik) SD is a national test for Grade 6 pupils in two subjects, Bahasa Indonesia and Maths. It is optional and does not decide graduation, but the score can be used in the achievement track for state junior high (SMP) admission.

The first TKA SD ran on 20-30 April 2026. According to the TKA 2026 results released by Kemendikdasmen, the national primary average was 60.14 in Bahasa Indonesia and only 43.41 in Maths.

That gap of almost 17 points matches what our teachers often see in diagnostics: children know the procedure, then stall once the problem is wrapped in a story. TKA questions ask for reasoning, such as reading data from a table or comparing fractions in a shopping situation. Dates and topics for the next cohort are in our TKA SD 2027 guide.

What parents can do at home in each phase

Numeracy practice works best as 15 minutes a day with real objects and real situations. Worksheets help once the idea is understood. Pick activities by phase:

Phase A (Grades 1-2): add up a small shop bill at the warung, group marbles in tens, cut a cake into halves and quarters.
Phase B (Grades 3-4): work out change, read clocks and journey times, measure a table with a tape measure.
Phase C (Grades 5-6): calculate a percentage discount, compare the price per gram of two brands, draw a bar chart of a week's spending.
Every phase: ask your child to explain how they got the answer. If they can't, the idea has not landed yet.

If your child tenses up whenever numbers appear, start with the mood rather than the content. We cover that in when a child is afraid of maths.

At Algonova, maths classes for primary school children follow the Indonesian SD curriculum: Math Starters for ages 6-7 and Math Explorers for Grades 3-6. Classes are live online with a teacher, either private or in groups of up to 10, from Rp 102,000 per lesson. More than 1,000,000 students in 97 countries have studied with Algonova.

Summary

Kurikulum Merdeka is still in use in 2026; deep learning changes how teachers teach, while the curriculum itself stays.
Phase A covers Grades 1-2, Phase B Grades 3-4 and Phase C Grades 5-6, each with its own maths targets.
Read the descriptions on the rapor before the marks, then match them to the phase target.
P5 is now a lighter co-curricular programme built around 8 graduate dimensions.
Numeracy is checked by AN (a Grade 5 sample) and by the Grade 6 TKA; the 2026 TKA maths average for SD was just 43.41.

Blog

Kurikulum Merdeka: Questions from Parents

Has Kurikulum Merdeka been replaced by deep learning?

No. Deep learning (pembelajaran mendalam) is a teaching approach, not a curriculum that replaces Kurikulum Merdeka. In July 2025, Minister Abdul Mu'ti said Permendikdasmen 13/2025 is not a regulation about a new curriculum, and schools can keep using either Kurikulum Merdeka or Kurikulum 2013. What the ministry wants to change is how teachers teach: children should understand a concept fully and connect it to real life. Fractions, for example, start with sharing a martabak or scaling a recipe and only then move to the rule. On the rapor, the phase names and core subjects stay the same, and the June 2026 revision of learning outcomes only touched Religion and Character Education. There is no need to buy new books because of the label. A better check is whether your child can explain how they solved a problem, since that is the point of the approach.

Which grades are Phase C?

Phase C covers Grades 5 and 6 of SD, roughly ages 10 to 12. For maths it is the busiest phase: numbers to 1,000,000, LCM and GCF, operations with fractions, decimals, ratio, perimeter, area and angles. At the end of Phase C, Grade 6 pupils can also sit the TKA, so any gap left from Phase B shows up quickly. A child who is not yet fluent with multiplication, for instance, will struggle to simplify fractions or find the LCM of 12 and 18. For comparison, Phase A is Grades 1-2 and Phase B is Grades 3-4. Each phase lasts about 2 years, and teachers can order the topics within it. If your child has just started Grade 5, the beginning of the semester is a good time to check that multiplication, division and equivalent fractions from Phase B are really secure.

How is a Kurikulum Merdeka report card different from a Kurikulum 2013 one?

A Kurikulum Merdeka rapor puts the weight on written descriptions of skills, not just marks and grades. Parents used to Kurikulum 2013 remember separate knowledge and skills marks with letter grades from A to D. Under Kurikulum Merdeka, each subject usually has one final mark plus a description of the skills already mastered and those that still need work. Co-curricular activities, formerly P5, have their own section. A maths description might read "able to compare fractions, needs guidance with multiplying fractions". A sentence like that tells you exactly what to practise this week. The format varies a little between schools because each one produces its rapor through its own e-Rapor setup. If the description is too vague to act on, it is fair to ask the class teacher for one or two example questions your child still gets wrong.

Has the P5 project been abolished?

Not exactly. From the 2025/2026 school year, P5 was replaced by more flexible co-curricular activities. Permendikdasmen 13/2025 renamed the Pancasila Student Profile as the graduate profile, and the P5 project gave way to activities such as cross-subject collaborative learning or the 7 Habits of Great Indonesian Children movement. Schools still run projects, but they no longer have to be costly exhibitions or stage shows. One class might survey the plastic waste at school, count it by type and present the totals as a bar chart. A small project like that trains numeracy and collaboration at the same time. Co-curricular results appear in a separate section of the rapor, usually as a description. If a school still asks families to pay for a large project, parents are entitled to ask the class teacher or the school committee what the policy is based on.

Does every Grade 5 child take the ANBK?

No. In SD, the national assessment goes to a random sample of Grade 5 pupils, at most 30 per school plus 5 reserves. The system picks them with class groups and gender in mind, so the school does not hand-pick its strongest pupils. AN results feed the Rapor Pendidikan of the school and region; they are not used to grade individual children or to decide who passes. A child who is selected therefore does not need special AKM tutoring. The useful practice is reading word problems, reading tables and graphs, and explaining each step in their own words. From 2026, Kemendikdasmen designed the Grade 6 TKA for primary schools to be integrated with the national assessment. Numeracy preparation is best started well before Grade 6, ideally in Phase B, when multiplication and fractions first appear.

What is numeracy in primary school, and how do you practise it?

Numeracy is the ability to use numbers and maths ideas to solve everyday problems. A child with good numeracy can work out change, read a timetable, compare prices and make sense of a simple graph. The most effective practice is 10 to 15 minutes a day built on real situations. Ask a Grade 3 child to total a shopping bill at the warung and work out the change, or have a Grade 6 child compare the price per gram of two packets of biscuits. Then ask them to explain the method in their own words. Worksheets still have a place, but as reinforcement after the idea is understood. The 2026 national TKA maths average for SD was only 43.41 out of 100, well below 60.14 for Bahasa Indonesia. Regular numeracy practice from the early grades pays off when Grade 6 brings long word problems.

Is the TKA SD compulsory, and does it decide graduation?

The TKA SD is not compulsory and does not decide graduation. Kemendikdasmen describes it as a map of the academic skills of Grade 6 pupils in Bahasa Indonesia and Maths, not as a graduation exam. Even so, the score can be used together with rapor marks in the achievement track for state SMP admission, with the weighting set by each regional government. That is why many parents still register their children. The first TKA SD ran on 20-30 April 2026, and the national results were announced by Kemendikdasmen on 26 May 2026. A pupil gets one attempt per school level, so there is no second sitting to improve the score. If your child is in Grade 5 now, that leaves roughly 1.5 years. It is enough time to close gaps from Phase B and Phase C gradually, without cramming in the final semester of Grade 6.

Is Coding and AI compulsory in primary school?

No. Coding and Artificial Intelligence (KKA) is an elective, not a compulsory subject. Under Permendikdasmen 13/2025, KKA can be taught from Grade 5 of SD and is being introduced in stages from the 2025/2026 school year, depending on the teachers and facilities at each school. It is normal for one school to offer it while another in the same city does not. The subject trains computational thinking, such as breaking a big problem into small steps, and that skill sits close to numeracy. When a child builds a simple game in Scratch, for example, they have to calculate the score and place a character using screen coordinates. If your child's school does not offer KKA yet, an online coding class from home is a way to start. Your child then arrives in Grade 5 with the basic logic already in place.

When does a primary school child need extra maths tutoring?

A child needs extra maths help when the rapor description names the same topic two semesters in a row, or when they start avoiding anything with numbers. Other signs: a Grade 3 or 4 child still counting on fingers for simple sums, or a Grade 5 or 6 child confused every time fractions or word problems appear. Before choosing a tutor, find out which topics are behind the phase target, because general tutoring that repeats everything often wastes time and money. A Grade 5 child who is only weak in fractions, for example, can focus on that topic for 6 to 8 weeks. At Algonova, the first step is a free maths diagnostic of about 60 minutes, with a report by topic and a study plan. Once you see the results, you can decide calmly whether your child needs regular classes or simply targeted practice at home.

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Kurikulum Merdeka Explained: A Parent's Guide to Indonesian Primary School (SD)

Is Kurikulum Merdeka still in use in 2026?

Phases A, B and C: which grades, and what maths is expected?

How to read a Kurikulum Merdeka report card

P5, co-curricular activities and the 8 graduate dimensions

Numeracy, AKM and ANBK: how they differ from the maths mark

TKA SD: the Grade 6 test parents ask about most

What parents can do at home in each phase

Summary

More from Blog

How to Teach Multiplication Tables to Kids: 5 Proven Methods

Math Games for Kids: 12 Best Picks by Age Group (2026 Guide)

Why Kids Struggle With Math: 7 Causes and How to Address Each

Kurikulum Merdeka: Questions from Parents

How to read a Kurikulum Merdeka report card

P5, co-curricular activities and the 8 graduate dimensions

Numeracy, AKM and ANBK: how they differ from the maths mark

TKA SD: the Grade 6 test parents ask about most

What parents can do at home in each phase

Summary

More from Blog

How to Teach Multiplication Tables to Kids: 5 Proven Methods

Math Games for Kids: 12 Best Picks by Age Group (2026 Guide)

Why Kids Struggle With Math: 7 Causes and How to Address Each

Kurikulum Merdeka: Questions from Parents