Abstrak
Dewi Susanti 2322017, Students Critical Thinking Skills Analysis in English Reading Text at Smp 2 Bukittinggi, A Thesis, State Islamic University of Sjech M. Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi, 2026. Critical thinking is a core competency in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading and a central demand of Indonesia's Kurikulum Merdeka through its Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) framework. Despite this curricular emphasis, empirical evidence on students' actual critical thinking levels in EFL reading at the junior high school level remains limited. This study aimed to describe the level of critical thinking skills of eighth-grade students at SMPN 2 Bukittinggi in English reading based on four indicators proposed by Facione (1990): interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference. A quantitative descriptive survey design was employed. The population consisted of 279 eighth-grade students, from which 90 students across three classes were selected using cluster random sampling. Data were collected through a validated 20-item multiple-choice critical thinking reading comprehension test developed based on recount and narrative texts (Cronbach's Alpha α = 0.726). Scores were classified using the criterion-referenced scale of Jaya (2019). The results showed that level of students' critical thinking skills was Moderate, with a mean score of 45.06% (SD = 28.71), with 56.67% of students at the Moderate level, 30.00% at High, and 13.33% at Low. Per-indicator analysis revealed that all four indicators were at the Moderate level: Inference (48.61%), Evaluation (44.00%), Interpretation (43.61%), and Analysis (41.85%). These findings indicate a meaningful gap between students' critical thinking performance and Kurikulum Merdeka's HOTS expectations, particularly in the dimension of Analysis. Keywords: critical thinking skills; EFL reading; Facione's framework; Kurikulum Merdeka; quantitative survey.