This report addresses two related issues. First, it summarizes the past international studies of mathematics and science, describing each study and its primary results. In place of country by country performance rankings, the report presents the average performance for each country accompanied by an estimate of the statistical error circumscribing the limits of meaningful country-to-country comparisons. Second, the report draws together critical and heretofore inaccessible documentation-information that scientists require to evaluate the quality of the surveys. The issues surrounding the collection and analysis of these data are also addressed. Further, it offers suggestions about ways by which new data collection standards could improve the quality of the surveys and the utility of the reports in the future. The report concludes by suggesting that there is a need for more deliberate consideration of policy concerns in the design of international assessments. This, in turn, may provide opportunities for policymakers and education practitioners to apply what is learned about cross-national differences in achievement to curriculum development and programming. Chapters include: (1) "Student Achievement in an International Context"; (2) "International Achievement Surveys of Mathematics and Science: An Overview"; (3) "The International Achievement Studies: Mathematics and Science Scores"; (4) "What We Know about the Achievement Scores and Country Rankings: A Summary of Selected Results and Hypotheses from the International Surveys"; and (5) "Looking Ahead: Toward Future International Achievement Surveys." Appendices include achieved sample size and response rates, mean scores and means compared with United States, secondary retention rates, age distributions and related characteristics of test takers, and mean scores and confidence intervals for participating educational systems. (KR)