WASHINGTON - THE nation's governors and other policymakers have advocated a deeply flawed European test to judge American students, a public policy organizations claims.

The National Governors Association and other groups have been pushing states to compare their kids' performance to that of students around the world. The idea is to help the US gain on better-performing countries by borrowing their best ideas.

To compare American schoolchildren, the governors have urged states to use tests including the Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA, which is given to high school students in 57 countries. But the Brookings Institution, in a report released Tuesday, said the PISA test is too flawed.

The PISA test goes beyond learning to measure values and beliefs, the report found. For example, PISA asks students whether they favor laws that protect the habitats of endangered species. And it asks if children favor electricity from renewable sources and regulating factory emissions.

'These are political judgments,' said Tom Loveless, the study's author. 'For me as a citizen, before I would agree or disagree with any of them, I'd need to know more about them.'

Along with test results, the Paris-based group that runs PISA issues dozens of policy recommendations ranging from testing and accountability to school choice and universal pre-K. But Loveless pointed out several instances in which the group ignored data that contradict its recommendations.

And he noted the PISA test is not tied to school curriculum. That means PISA doesn't measure what schools teach; it measures real-world application, or what kids can do after schools have taught them.

That stands in contrast to the United States' National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, often called the nation's report card, which is tied to curriculum. Another international test, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS, also is tied to curriculum.

Loveless is a representative to the group that administers TIMSS and is on the US advisory board for PISA. He called on the governors and other groups not to rely on PISA to benchmark US students.

The group that runs PISA, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, called the Brookings study disingenuous. Andreas Schleicher, who directs PISA, said it's important to see how students use what they learn. -- AP