The Levels of Understanding in the Reading Questions of the English Textbook “English for Nusantara” for Grade 9 based on SOLO Taxonomy

The study aimed to identify the levels of understanding represented in the reading
questions of the English for Nusantara textbook for Grade 9 based on SOLO
Taxonomy. The study employed a descriptive qualitative design using content
analysis to examine the reading questions in the textbook based on SOLO
Taxonomy. The study used the interactive model proposed by Miles, Huberman,
and Saldaña (2014). The findings revealed that the reading questions were
distributed across four levels of the SOLO Taxonomy: The Uni-Structural Level
was the most dominant, accounting for 80 questions (53.69%), followed by the
Multi-Structural Level with 39 questions (26.17%), the Relational Level with 23
questions (15.43%), and the Extended-Abstract Level with 7 questions (4.69%),
while no questions were classified at the Pre-Structural Level (0%). These findings
indicated that the textbook primarily emphasizes students’ understanding of explicit
information rather than encouraging them to integrate ideas or extend their
understanding beyond the text. Nevertheless, the presence of Relational and
Extended-Abstract questions demonstrates that the textbook provides opportunities
for students to develop deeper understanding in the reading skill.