An Australian-born educator who has overseen the comparative international assessment of student achievement in over 30 countries is the recipient of the highest international achievement award presented by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Barry McGaw, the recently-retired Director for Education in the Directorate of Education in the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has been selected to receive the Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement.