DIFFERING VOCABULARY MASTERY AND GRAMMAR ABILITY BETWEEN THE 2013 CURRICULUM OF THE ELEVENTH-GRADE STUDENTS OF SMAN 1 MALINAU AND THE MERDEKA CURRICULUM OF ELEVENTH-GRADE STUDENTS OF SMAN 3 MALINAU
This study aimed to determine the differences in vocabulary mastery and grammar ability between eleventh-grade students taught under the 2013 Curriculum at SMAN 1 Malinau and those taught under the Merdeka Curriculum at SMAN 3 Malinau during the 2023/2024 academic year. A causal-comparative research design was used, with 31 students from each school selected through purposive sampling. The TOEIC test was employed as the instrument to assess both vocabulary mastery and grammar ability. Since the data were not normally distributed, further analysis was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U Test, with data processed using SPSS version 24.0. The findings revealed a significant difference in both vocabulary mastery and grammar ability between students from the two schools. Students at SMAN 1 Malinau, who followed the 2013 Curriculum, outperformed their peers at SMAN 3 Malinau, who were taught using the Merdeka Curriculum. Specifically, the mean score for vocabulary mastery was 69.55 for SMAN 1 Malinau students, compared to 45.61 for SMAN 3 Malinau students. Similarly, the grammar ability test results showed a mean score of 76.39 for SMAN 1 Malinau students, whereas SMAN 3 Malinau students averaged 43.35. The Mann-Whitney test confirmed these differences, with a p-value of 0.00. These results indicated that the 2013 Curriculum yielded better outcomes in vocabulary and grammar attainment than the Merdeka Curriculum. The differences observed in this study can be attributed to variations in teaching methods and instructional media used in the two schools.