International surveys of educational achievement are typically analysed in isolation from each
other with no indication as to whether new results confirm or contradict those from earlier
surveys. The paper pulls together results from four surveys to compare average levels of
achievement, inequality of achievement, and the correlates of achievement (especially family
background) among the six English-speaking OECD countries and between them and
countries from Continental Europe. Our aim is to see whether a robust pattern emerges
across the different sources: the Trends in International Maths and Science Study (TIMSS),
the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA), the Programme of International
Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS).
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