TIMSS Target Grades and the Norwegian Curriculum in Basic and Secondary Schools
Grades 5 and 9 are the TIMSS 2015 target grades for Norway. In previous TIMSS studies, the target populations in Norway have been Grades 4 and 8. The average age of the two grades in 2011 was 9.7 and 13.7, respectively. At the beginning of the TIMSS 2015 cycle, Norway asked IEA to accept and acknowledge a shift of target populations, to Grade 5 from Grade 4, and to Grade 9 from Grade 8. The main argument was that Grade 1 in Norway resembles the preschool year in many other countries, particularly the other Nordic countries. In addition, the average ages of the target populations in the other Nordic countries were approximately one year higher than in Norway. These large age differences reduced the validity of the comparisons between Norway and the other Nordic countries. IEA accepted the request; however, for trend reasons Grades 4 and 8 also are tested in this cycle.
The Norwegian curriculum is organized by grade ranges, and curriculum goals specify competencies to be attained by the end of Grades 2, 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, and 13. The competency goals for Grade 4 can easily be compared to the TIMSS 2015 Assessment Frameworks7 for the fourth grade. For Grades 5, 8, and 9, however, there are no grade-specific curricular goals; at these stages, goals are combined for Grades 5 to 7 and Grades 8 to 10, respectively. In addition, the order in which subjects are presented to students within these grade ranges may vary across schools and textbooks. Hence, curriculum statements for Grades 5, 8, and 9 in Norway only give a rough indication of what is covered.
For each school subject, the curriculum includes an introduction outlining the general objectives and structure of the subject, specifications for basic skills in that subject, a list of competency goals, and statements regarding assessment.