His point in putting in the test score table is to say it's focusing people on the wrong things.
Just note the title: "America’s Problem: How the World is 'Beating Us' in a Battle We Don’t Necessarily Want to Win". The battle is the test score battle. The scare quotes around "Beating Us" mean that he's calling into question the notion. And in case that isn't clear, he then says explicitly: we probably don't want to win.
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I'm not sure you read the article thoroughly.
His point in putting in the test score table is to say it's focusing people on the wrong things.
Just note the title: "America’s Problem: How the World is 'Beating Us' in a Battle We Don’t Necessarily Want to Win". The battle is the test score battle. The scare quotes around "Beating Us" mean that he's calling into question the notion. And in case that isn't clear, he then says explicitly: we probably don't want to win.