The purpose of this study is to explore the different actors, interests and perspectives involved in the different communicative arenas discussing the result of the 2018 PISA test, to deepen the understanding of why the national debate primarily focused on the proportion of students who did not participate and in what ways a previous attitude towards the OECD as a neutral expert on education became contested among national actors. The question that comes to the fore is: What normative education policy conceptions are at stake in the public deliberations on the PISA 2018 results?