The latest results of PISA — an international assessment often used to compare the quality of the nation’s public schools against other developed countries — will be released Tuesday. That makes today the day to keep one particular word in mind: perspective.

My EWA colleague Mikhail Zinshteyn put together a useful primer on PISA, which is overseen by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). I encourage you to read it ahead of tomorrow’s headlines. For more on PISA’s limitations, and why broad-brush comparisons among countries don’t contribute much to the conversation on America’s educational equity and achievement gaps, check out Eduwonk Andy Rotherham’s 2011 piece for Time.

We held a webinar a few weeks ago for reporters to talk more about PISA with Andreas Schleicher, the OECD’s education director, as well as Mark Tucker of the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE). You can catch the replay here.

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email EWA public editor Emily Richmond at erichmond@ewa.org. Follow her on Twitter: @EWAEmily.