The goals of the school define what the students are supposed to learn while attending preschool and school.
There are two different types of goals for school activities:
• Goals to aim for
• Goals to attain

Goals to aim for
These goals specify the orientation of the work at school. The goals to aim for take precedence over the goals to attain.
The goals to aim for focus on standards and not on details. They express processes, e.g. that the students “develop their ability to use English to communicate in speech and writing” (Goal to aim for in English for grade 9). The teachers, together with the students, should plan and implement the teaching based on the goals to aim for.
The goals to aim for are expressed in:
1 The school curriculum, where the goals to aim for define how the school should work to instil the fundamental democratic values in the pupils.
2 The syllabi, where the goals to aim for are defined for each subject.

Goals to attain
The syllabi of compulsory school specify goals to attain in grade 3 for mathematics, swedish and swedish as a second language. The syllani also specify goals to attain for each respective subjects in grade 5 and grade 9. It is the basic level of knowledge of the subject required by the students at these levels, e.g. that the students should “be able to take part in simple discussions on everyday and familiar subjects.” (Goal to attain in English for grade 5) and the student should “be able to actively take part in discussions on familiar subjects and with the help of different strategies communicate effectively.” (Goal to attain in English for grade 9). The goals to attain are the instruments of the teachers in assessing the students’ knowledge development in relation to the goals to aim for. The goals to attain represent the minimum level of knowledge to attain for a Pass (G) grade in a subject in grade 9. A student having failed to attain the goals in a subject at the end of grade 9 will not be awarded a grade in that subject. Instead, the student will be issued with a written assessment (see another page of this website iup.nu).