<![CDATA[This study aims to analyze the item difficulty levels of test questions in three Islamic education subjects—Aqidah (Islamic Creed), Arabic Language, and Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)—across two educational program types, namely the Special Program and the General Program at MAN 1 Surakarta. The study focuses on identifying the equivalence of assessment instruments based on the item difficulty parameter and examining the significance of differences between the two programs. The research is grounded in concerns regarding disparities in students' religious competencies between the programs, which may affect the fairness of madrasah assessment instruments. A quantitative comparative research design was employed. The data consisted of Grade XII students’ responses to multiple-choice questions administered in the current academic year's madrasah assessment. The sample included 57 students from the Special Program and 330 students from the General Program. Data analysis was conducted by calculating item difficulty indices using the Classical Test Theory (CTT) approach. Subsequently, normality tests, homogeneity tests, and independent-samples t-tests were performed using SPSS software. The findings indicate that the item difficulty levels of the Aqidah test were relatively balanced between the two programs, both in terms of mean scores and category distributions. In contrast, significant differences were found in the difficulty levels of the Arabic Language and Fiqh tests, with the items administered to the Special Program students tending to be easier than those given to the General Program students. These findings suggest that the assessment instruments have not yet achieved full equivalence across programs. Therefore, further evaluation and revision of test construction procedures are necessary to ensure the fairness and validity of assessments within the madrasah educational context.]]>
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