ABSTRACT
Teaching and learning activities to be used at Community Learning Activities Centers (PKBMs) are not yet feasible. The current paper reports on the results of a case study conducted by the researcher on administering an algebra test for students. The aim is to observe students’ abilities in solving algebra problems and matching the difficulty encountered by them with the type of difficulty based in Arithmetic, Variables, and Algebraic Expressions (AVAE) theory. The algebra test was administered to 15 students of package B and then the results were analyzed. It was found that students’ abilities in solving algebraic operations are still low. The difficulties that we found include algebraic operations, understanding variables and using mathematical symbols. These findings suggest that students’ algebra abilities need improvement and the difficulties faced by the students do not differ so much from those found in the results of the research that created the AVAE theory.
