The Indonesia Education Report Card as a Catalyst for Data-Based Planning and School Quality Improvement

This systematic literature review examines the implementation and impact of the Indonesia Education Report Card (Rapor Pendidikan) within the Merdeka Belajar (Freedom to Learn) framework. The review synthesizes evidence from 33 studies focusing on Data-Based Planning (Perencanaan Berbasis Data, PBD), managerial applications, and implementation challenges. The Rapor Pendidikan represents a systemic policy shift in Indonesia’s education quality assurance, replacing self-reported evaluation mechanisms with an integrated, data-driven platform that compiles secondary data automatically from the National Assessment (Asesmen Nasional) and other comprehensive surveys. Findings indicate that the platform facilitates a shift from intuitive to evidence-based school management through the Identification, Reflection, and Improvement (IRB) cycle, and supports continuous improvement through Deming-cycle-based supervision. Strategic utilization of the platform has led to improvements in literacy, numeracy, and character development outcomes, with direct integration of diagnostic recommendations into school development plans (RKS/RKAS). However, the transformation is often hindered by low data literacy among educators, limited technological infrastructure, administrative burdens, and the risk that aggregate indicators obscure specific sub-domain performance declines. The review concludes that while the Education Report Card is a powerful tool for institutional reform, its success is heavily mediated by instructional leadership, sustained professional development, and continuous mentoring at the school level.