<![CDATA[This study aims to identify and describe the level of anxiety experienced by twelfth-grade students of class F MAN 1 Surakarta prior to the implementation of the newly introduced Tes Kemampuan Akademik (TKA), a national assessment policy replacing the former Ujian Nasional. Using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) with 14 items scored on a 0–4 Likert scale, data were collected from 81 students of class XII-F through a census (total sampling) approach. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with SPSS, including tests of normality, validity, and reliability. The results show that students’ anxiety scores are normally distributed, and the instrument demonstrates high validity and excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.988). Descriptively, most students fall into the moderate anxiety category (66.7%), with 17.3% in the low and 16.0% in the high anxiety category. Qualitative responses indicate that anxiety is mainly triggered by parental expectations, perceived insufficiency of preparation time, uncertainty about test content, and concerns about future academic opportunities. These findings highlight that the TKA, although officially non-determinant for graduation, is still perceived as a high-stakes exam by students, implying the need for targeted psychological support and school-based interventions to help them manage pre-exam anxiety within the context of the new assessment policy.]]>
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