[M.D. Holloway]

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Assumption: International test score rankings are valid measures of the quality of education.
Data do not support the causal relationships that many people establish on the basis of international rankings. If a country ranks high on a given international comparison, people assume that its schools must be “good”; if the country ranks low, its schools must be “bad.” The problem is, international test score comparisons are virtually impossible to interpret, not only because of enormous differences among nations in poverty rates and in societal values and objectives, but also because of major sampling problems, which make it difficult to ensure that comparable samples of students, schools, and regions are being tested across countries.
Assumption: A country's ranking on test score comparisons predicts its ability to compete in the global economy.