Elementary Students' Difficulties in Solving Numeracy Problems

Abstract

The Numeracy is a skill that a person has to apply mathematical concepts in real life. Based on the PISA 2022 results, all countries experienced a decline, as well as Indonesia. Although the rankings increased, the average literacy and numeracy scores obtained by Indonesian students were still far below the international average. The numeracy achievement in Sumedang Regency is still below 60. The purpose of this study is to identify elementary students' difficulties in solving numeracy problems. This research used qualitative method and descriptive approach. The participants in this study were 30  fifth-grade elementary school students from an elementary school in the Rancakalong Sub-district of Sumedang, selected using purposive sampling. The data collection techniques used were interviews and tests. The data processing and analysis technique carried out in this study consists of three stages, namely data reduction, data presentation and conclusion drawing. The results showed that the numeracy skills of elementary school students as a whole had an average value of 49.83 and the value was included in the sufficient category. However, there are still many students who fall into the category of less which is as much as 40%. Then the numeracy skills of students at all levels are mostly included in the insufficient category. Students' difficulties in solving problems are divided into 3 parts, namely difficulties in understanding concepts, difficulties in numeracy skills, and difficulties in solving problems. The number of students who have difficulty understanding concepts is 19 people or 63.33%. The number of students who had difficulty in numeracy skills was 15 people or 50%. Finally, 20 or 66.67% of students had difficulty in problem solving.