Mathematical literacy achievement of junior high school students across PISA content domains: Identifying the domain with the lowest achievement

This study aims to describe junior high school students’ mathematical literacy achievement in solving Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) items across four content domains: Space and Shape, Quantity, Change and Relationships, and Uncertainty and Data, and to identify the domain with the lowest achievement. A descriptive design combining qualitative and quantitative approaches was employed. The qualitative approach described students’ responses and interview findings related to their problem-solving processes, while the quantitative approach analyzed test scores and calculated achievement percentages for each PISA content domain. The participants were 26 eighth-grade students from a public junior high school in Jambi Province, Indonesia, selected through cluster random sampling. Data were collected through written tests using publicly released PISA items, interviews, and documentation of students’ written responses. Data analysis was based on three PISA mathematical literacy processes: formulate, employ, and interpret and evaluate. The results showed achievement levels of 47.86% in Space and Shape, 10.68% in Quantity, 2.99% in Change and Relationships, and 8.55% in Uncertainty and Data. Thus, Change and Relationships had the lowest achievement. These findings reveal variations in achievement across the PISA content domains and may guide teachers in giving greater attention to the domains with lower achievement, particularly Change and Relationships.