Whether state average test scores on the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Trial State Assessment in mathematics should be used to compare and rank states according to the quality or proficiency of their educational programs is examined. Data from eighth graders from the Trial State Assessment are analyzed. Analysis shows that 89 percent of the variation in state average test scores on the NAEP-92 Trial State Assessment can be explained by the combination of four demographic factors over which states have no control: number of parents living at home, parental education, community type, and state poverty rates. Therefore, Trial State Assessment mathematics scores are not valid measures of the relative quality of the states' educational programs but seem rather to reflect the difficulty of the educational tasks confronting the various states. Proposals to adjust ranking by statistically adjusting the scores to reflect state variations in demographic characteristics are meeting with much controversy. Comparisons and rankings on the basis of these scores do not provide fair measures of educational quality. Seven figures, and four more in an appendix, present analysis results. (Contains 17 references.) (SLD)