In response to Barry McGaw's article "The role of the OECD in international comparative studies of achievement", this contribution explores two issues which the author considers closely interrelated. The first issue concerns the quality of the items produced to assess reading skills in the OECD-PISA and OECD-SIALS studies and the consistency between the theoretical framework and the actual administered test. The second issue is a comment on the validity and reliability of the items, especially with regard to cultural biases. In particular, the author tackles the problem of cultural biases related to translation and the related disadvantages for non-Anglophone countries. (Contains 3 tables and 4 notes.)