ABSTRACT
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has employed some of the best measurement people in the world. PISA is simply another Standardized Achievement Tests (SATs), with some added and unusual technical problems, and all the usual insensitivities to teaching and schooling that characterize all Standardized Achievement Tests. Almost all SATs try to adhere to certain principles of design, have similar correlates, and have similar limits on the interpretations of the results obtained. Some of us find it hard to believe that item equivalence can be ensured for the 65 nations, 65 cultures and their subcultures, 65 dialects and languages that participated in the 2012 PISA test. In fact, the common sense about the issue is fully supported by the research of M. A. Ruiz-Primo and M. Li. The context must be read and understood before the actual questions designed to tap problem-solving skills are asked.
