In reply to BigBrother:
> (In reply to Bruce Hooker)
> [...]
> The study was commissioned by Pearson who are a private company who make money by selling courses and running exams. Unless something has changed they also own a large stake in The Economist Group who carried out the 'study'.
This is what needs to be looked at. Pearson will probably also run supply agencies, providing exploited teachers for schools.
They will probably also have an eye on running academies in England. If they get these statistics, provided by themselves, as evidence of improvement in their schools, they will of course be on to a winner, financially.
There are other measures out there though, each with their own failings. How does one compare education standards amongst even European nations when there is such a variation in attitudes towards schooling in the nations invovled and the amount of monet taxpayers are willing to pay?