The influence of grade level on middle school students' metacognitive skills

Metacognitive skills represent pivotal competencies for students to align with the requirements of educational curricula across diverse countries. The metacognitive proficiencies exhibited by students can be gauged and comprehended by considering the distinctions arising from varying grade levels. This study is aimed at ascertaining the impact of grade levels on students' metacognitive skills within a selected public junior high school in Malang, Indonesia. The assessment of metacognitive skills entailed the utilization of an integrated essay-based metacognitive evaluation. Data analysis was executed through one-way ANOVA, utilizing a significance threshold of 5%. The research outcomes conclusively infer that a noteworthy variance exists in metacognitive skills among students in grades VII, VIII, and IX. Furthermore, the data underscore that the pedagogical process within schools has yet to fully harness the latent metacognitive skills of students. Consequently, it is anticipated that educators will actively embrace diverse instructional strategies and evaluative mechanisms to more effectively nurture the cultivation of metacognitive skills within the Indonesian educational landscape.