PIRLS assesses reading literacy among 10-year-olds. Results allow for international comparison, as well as measurement of trends in reading development. This article provides an overview of the history of PIRLS, its theoretical framework and methodology. Further, it provides a description of the sampling procedures, planning and implementation in Norway. Approximately 8,600 Norwegian 4^th and 5^th graders from 161 schools participated. The 5^th grade students completed both the traditional paper-based PIRLS and the new computer-based ePIRLS.

This article opens by reporting the key results from all 50 countries participating in the fourth PIRLS cycle, confirming that Norway has achieved a significant improvement in average scores at both the 4^th and 5^th grade since 2011. Norwegian girls have improved more than boys in terms of points scored, which means that the gender difference in favour of girls has increased during the last five years. Norwegian 5^th grade students perform very well on the electronic reading test (ePIRLS), with only one country performing better on the international ranking.

This article presents the new electronic reading assessment, ePIRLS. Norwegian results are analysed in relations to background variables such as gender, students’ digital activities and leisure reading. A couple of these analyses include results from the traditional paper-and-pencil PIRLS assessment. Some results from Norwegian 5^th grade students are compared to results from some of the other countries, in particular our neighbours, Denmark and Sweden.

Norwegian classrooms are characterised by linguistic and cultural diversity. PIRLS 2016 documents differences in performance level between Norwegian monolingual and multilingual students for 4^th and 5^th graders. In Norway, both monolingual and multilingual students show progression in reading results. In this article, we examine more closely the results of multilingual students in Norway and investigate how selected background variables impact on scores in reading literacy.

In order to gauge the extent to which word reading skills can explain students' reading comprehension, the Norwegian version of PIRLS includes a word chain test that examines word recognition skills in students. In this article we examine the connection between word recognition and reading comprehension of students in grades 4 and 5. The correlation between word recognition and reading comprehension is strongest in grade 4, but in both grades there are significant differences in word recognition skills between students at different levels of mastery in reading comprehension. The results also show significant differences in reading comprehension between students at different levels of word recognition. In the article, possible consequences for the teaching of reading in grades 4 and 5 are discussed.

Based on information acquired from the PIRLS 2016 teacher questionnaire, we explore if there are factors relating to teachers’ competence and practices that may influence the development of students’ reading skills. We also take into consideration any changes in these factors since the last PIRLS study. We find that teachers participate more often in development programs. There is a clear indication that teachers change their reading practices in the classroom in accordance with best practice in reading instruction. We find a correlation between students’ reading scores and the degree of teachers’ cooperation and between students’ reading scores and schools´ focus on academic success.

In this article, we investigate connections between reading literacy and aspects of the school environment. We divide school environment into four main categories: academic environment, community, safety and institutional environment. Results from PIRLS 2016 indicate that Norway has a good school environment both compared to other Nordic countries and from an international perspective. Further, we find clear connections between school environment and reading literacy. Aspects related to the categories of community and safety seems to be most important.

Compared to the results from previous PIRLS assessments, there is a reduction in the number of both 4^th and 5^th grade students categorised as “poor readers” in Norway. However, there are still more boys than girls in this category. It seems to vary what support the schools can provide for struggling readers. It is worrying that more than a third of Norwegian teachers report that they never receive help from an early reading specialist, and that, since 2011, there is a significant increase in the number of students whose teachers reported that they “wait for the reading difficulties to pass”.

In this article, we explore 4^th grade teachers’ reporting on their instruction of reading strategies: which ones they teach, how often they teach them and whether strategies instruction varies among the classes they teach. The sample consists of all 4^th grade teachers who responded to the PIRLS 2016 teachers’ questionnaire. Our results show that there is potential for more frequent strategy instruction in order to ensure that students’ comprehension is developed further, even at 4^th grade.

Gender differences in reading skills and motivation for reading are widely discussed in research as well as in the public sphere. In this article we take a closer look at the strongest and poorest readers among girls and boys in PIRLS 2016. We investigate reading achievement, experiences of literacy teaching, reading habits and preferences as well as students’ own perception of their reading skills. The results indicate that reading achievement level is more important than gender for these students’ reading profile.

The present article compares Norwegian PIRLS results from 2001 through 2016 (four cycles) focusing on students born early versus late in the year. A significant difference in favour of students born early is observed in each of the four PIRLS cycles. Especially boys born in November and December score below their classmates. This finding is discussed in light of the two most recent curricula, L97 and LK06, and what each of these curricula signals regarding early reading instruction.

The present article compares PIRLS-results from differently sized Norwegian municipalities in light of the history of the Norwegian school system. The principle of a unitary school system, providing equal opportunities for all, has a 100-year-old tradition in Norway. However, we question whether the 2016 reading results seem to reflect this ideal. Our analyses reveal that 5^th grade students from the smallest municipalities have poorer reading results than students from larger municipalities in both PIRLS and ePIRLS.