The 2 nd International Conference on Cultures & Languages (ICCL) E ISSN 2963-9777 Page | 584 STRENGTHENING STUDENTS’ SOCIO- CULTURAL LITERACY IN MADRASAH WITH AKMI (CASE STUDY OF PRIVATE MI IN KUDUS REGENCY) Zarkasi 1 Ghozali 2 UIN Walisongo Semarang, Indonesia 1 SDN Trimulyo 2 Demak, Indonesia 2 zarkasi.624@gmail.com 1 ghozali1980@gmail.com 2 Abstract This study aims to explore how to strengthen the socio-cultural literacy of students in madrasas by implementing the Indonesian Madrasah Competency Assessment (AKMI). Socio-cultural literacy is the ability to understand and interact with the culture and society around us, socio- cultural literacy is one of the differentiators from literacy developed by the Ministry of Education and Culture through the Minimum Competency Assessment (AKM). Through a qualitative method with a case study approach, this study analyzes how AKMI can be used to improve students' socio-cultural literacy in Private MI Kudus Regency. The study results show that AKMI cannot only measure academic competence but can also encourage better socio-cultural understanding among madrasah students by increasing teacher training, resource support, and community involvement. Thus, it is hoped that the students will become agents of socio-cultural literacy in their respective communities when they are at home. Keywords: Socio-cultural literacy, Students, Madrasah, AKMI, Strengthening literacy INTRODUCTION The Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia is making a very crucial effort to improve madrasah literacy, especially Madrasah Ibtidaiyah, namely by holding the Indonesian Madrasah Competency Assessment (AKMI) program starting in 2020. The Indonesian Madrasah Competency Assessment (AKMI) is a form of evaluation organized by the Ministry of Religion to measure the competence of madrasah students in Reading Literacy, Numeracy Literacy, Science Literacy, and Socio- Cultural Literacy (Kemenag, 2021). After going through a very strict selection