<![CDATA[General Background Total Quality Management is a systemic organizational strategy emphasizing continuous improvement across all administrative and academic functions to ensure educational excellence. Specific Background SMK Muhammadiyah 2 Kutorejo implements educational administration and operational processes guided by Jerome S. Arcaro's five core quality management pillars: customer focus, total involvement, measurement, commitment, and continuous improvement. Knowledge Gap Although quality management is extensively theorized, comprehensive qualitative evaluations pinpointing the specific structural gaps between theoretically prescribed pillars and their practical execution within under-resourced vocational Islamic schools remain limited. Aims This study analyzes the implementation extent of Jerome S. Arcaro’s five quality management pillars at SMK Muhammadiyah 2 Kutorejo to evaluate educational service quality. Results Employing a qualitative case study utilizing observations, interviews, and documentation, findings indicate uneven implementation across the five pillars. The commitment and continuous improvement pillars demonstrate strong execution through quality-oriented leadership, teacher professionalism, and regular programmatic evaluations. Conversely, customer focus, total involvement, and measurement remain suboptimal. While the school addresses customer needs and fosters teamwork, it critically lacks formalized evaluation mechanisms, such as systematic customer satisfaction surveys, formalized cross-functional quality teams, and data-driven measurement instruments. Novelty This research distinctly isolates structural execution gaps within Arcaro’s framework in a vocational Islamic context, revealing that high institutional commitment does not automatically translate to systematic, data-driven quality measurement. Implications Educational institutions must institutionalize formal, data-driven evaluation mechanisms and structured cross-functional quality teams to bridge the gap between abstract institutional commitment and measurable continuous improvement. Highlights: Institutional commitment and continuous improvement are effectively executed through quality-oriented leadership and regular programmatic evaluations. The absence of systematic customer satisfaction surveys significantly limits the optimization of the customer focus pillar. Formalized, data-driven measurement instruments are essential to objectively evaluate academic performance and administrative efficiency. Keywords: Total Quality Management, Educational Innovation, Vocational Education, Continuous Improvement, Quality Measuremen]]>
