Analysis on how the Palestinian Primary School fourth grade Arabic course meets the PIRLS standards

The study aims to find out the extent to which the Arabic language curriculum for the fourth grade of primary school in Palestine has PIRLS standards. The study population consists of Arabic language teachers for the fourth grade at schools in the governorates of the Gaza Strip in Palestine in the scholastic year 2021-2022. The study sample consisted of 248 teachers who were randomly selected. The researcher used the descriptive method. Two tools were prepared for the first measurement to analyze the Arabic language curriculum for the fourth grade in terms of the PIRLS standards. The second tool is by knowing the opinions of Arabic language teachers about the extent to which the Arabic language textbook include the PIRLS standards. The sub-indicators for the main areas of the PIRLS standards were built by looking at relevant research and taking the opinions of experts in curriculum development, education supervisors, university professors, and teachers of the required stage. After consulting the experts, the researcher concluded that there are 64 PIRLS standards classified under four main headings. These consist of retrieving information, drawing direct conclusions in the text, interpreting and integrating ideas and information, and evaluating and criticizing text elements and content. Before applying this scale, which consists of four dimensions, upon teachers. The necessary permits were obtained from the Ministry and the scale was sent to teachers via e-mail by the Ministry of Education. The obtained data were analyzed using spss software. Pearson's correlation coefficient, Spearman-Brown correlation coefficient and Cronbach's alpha correlation coefficient were used to analyze the data. The following results were obtained; The Arabic textbook taught in Grade 4 has been met with PIRLS standards at a high level by teachers. The fourth domain (examination and evaluation of elements, content and language of the text) got a high level according to PIRLS 2021 standards, and the first domain (focus on information and its retrieval process) was close to the percentage set by the International Agency (IEA). It was decided that the second domain (reaching direct conclusions in the text) and the third domain (interpreting and integrating ideas and information) got less than the specified standard. From the point of view of teachers of the Arabic language for the fourth basic grade; It can be said that teachers consider the fourth-grade Arabic curriculum in Dimensions 1 and 2 as moderate and appropriate according to PIRLS standards and insufficient in Dimensions 3 and 4. Finally, after discussing the results, the present researcher recommended a set of suggestions to researchers and curriculum designers. The study is expected to be a pathway to other related studies. Keywords: reading skill, curriculum assessment, basic language skills, PIRLS standards, higher order thinking skills.