online education research, skripsi, tesis, disertasi, penelitian,action research, statistical, sampling, research proposal, qualitative research,quantitative research,sampling methods

            The decree that regulates International Standard School is mentioned in the Education Bill No. 20 year 2003 about National System of Education in article 50 verse 3, “Indonesian government and or state government administers at least one education unit at any grade to be improved as an education unit with international standard.”

In order to respond to that decree, many schools from Elementary, Junior High, until Senior High School establish new classes using international standard system. Only qualified students were chosen as the international standard students. They must pass some selection process which consist of administrative, academic, and non-academic selection. It means that the International Standard Students must have good intelligence.

In “The Management System of International-based School for Primary and Secondary Education” (Sistem Penyelenggaraan Sekolah Bertaraf International untuk Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah), the Ministry of National Education stated that international schools is the schools that prepare the students to be able to achieve standards of Indonesians education competence (Standar Nasional Pendidikan Indonesia) and international competence level so that the students can compete in international world (Saniyati, 2008:30)

            There are some characteristics that make the national school with international standard different from national school in general. The first difference is from the curriculum used. The curriculum used in a national school with international standard is “Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan” (KTSP) with some enrichment in it. The Department of National Education or Depdiknas (2007) states that the structure of the curriculum is SNP + X. SNP refers to the standard of  national education which includes some aspects such as the competence, graduate, content, process, teachers, facilities, fund, management, and evaluation. Meanwhile, the X factor refers to the enrichment of the input or lessons with English as the medium of instruction, bilingualism, and international curriculum which is combined with the national curriculum itself.

The second characteristic is that the objective of international class is to produce Indonesian students who are competitive nationally and internationally and able to compete in the global era. In order to increase students’ English mastery, therefore, the teachers use English as the medium of instruction. It is expected that the students can use English as a means of communication in an international scope so that they can compete internationally.

The third characteristic is that the students must follow a tight selection before entering the international class. Students must fulfill competence tests consisting of Intelligence Quotients, Emotional Quotients, Spiritual Quotients, and Talent Tests. The fourth characteristic is that the teachers must have certain qualifications to be able to teach in the international class. The teachers should have certain certification from international curriculum, master English, have good competence in pedagogy, personality, and social, and are able to operate laptop, LCD, and disk player.
            International standard class is a good environment to make students master English. Among several factors that influence the success of international standard class is the teacher. The objective of international standard class can be reached if the teachers are qualified. We can say that the teachers in international standard class is successful in their mission if the students can use the language in the real world communication as well as comprehending the content of the subject taught.