Several current international comparative large-scale assessments of educational achievement (ICLSA) make use of "Rasch models", to address functions essential for valid cross-cultural comparisons. From a historical perspective, ICLSA and Georg Rasch's "models for measurement" emerged at about the same time, half a century ago. However, the trajectories of these potentially complementary movements were not closely linked from the outset. This article follows the trajectories of ICLSA and Rasch measurement from the 1950s to the present day. Based on the technical documentation of ICLSA, the article traces the occurrence of Rasch models in these studies, and the purposes for which they are used, within the general shift from classical test theory to probabilistic approaches. We regard this historical synopsis as an initial attempt to explore the crossings and involvement of two educational fields which might initiate further research on the contribution of the work of Georg Rasch to the development of measurement theory in relation to ICLSA. (Contains 3 tables.)