<![CDATA[This study examined the relationship between Islamic Religious Education teachers’ understanding of learning outcomes in the Merdeka Curriculum and students’ academic achievement at SMP Negeri 3 Tawangsari, Sukoharjo. A quantitative approach with a correlational design was employed. The study population consisted of 173 students, from whom 35 participants were selected through simple random sampling. Data on teacher understanding were collected using a 20-item multiple-choice instrument, while students’ academic achievement data were obtained from documented Islamic Religious Education scores. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, validity and reliability tests, normality and homogeneity tests, and Pearson product-moment correlation. The results showed that students’ perceptions of teacher understanding had a mean score of 92.74, a median of 95, and a standard deviation of 6.20. Students’ academic achievement had a mean score of approximately 85.71, a median of 86, and a standard deviation of 5.93. The instrument was valid and achieved a reliability coefficient of 0.797. The correlation analysis produced a coefficient of 0.773, indicating a strong positive relationship between teacher understanding of learning outcomes and student achievement. Teacher understanding accounted for 59.75% of the variation in academic achievement. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening teachers’ capacity to translate curriculum learning outcomes into appropriate objectives, content, instructional strategies, and assessment practices.]]>
