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Each participating country agreed to select a sample which is representative of the target population as a whole. In 2001, the target population was the upper of the two adjacent grades with the most 9-year-olds. For PIRLS 2006, the definition of the target population has been refined to represent students in the grade that corresponds to four years of schooling, counting from the first year of International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) Level 1 – fourth grade in most countries, including the United States. This population represents an important stage in the development of reading. At this point, generally children have learned to read and are using reading to learn. IEA's Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) has also chosen to assess this population of students.
In the United States in 2001, a nationally representative sample of fourth-grade students was selected: 3,763 students from 174 schools were sampled. The schools were randomly selected first and then one or two classrooms were randomly selected within each school.
In 2006 in the United States, a nationally representative sample of fourth-grade students was selected: more than 5,000 students from 183 schools were sampled. The schools were randomly selected first and then one or two classrooms were randomly selected within each school.
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