What Do We Really Learn from PISA? The Sociology of its Reception in Three European Countries (2001–2008)1

This article synthesises some findings of an international research project called Know&Pol to question the effects of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) on the public debate in three European countries (France, Portugal and Scotland). Using a political science approach, it shows that Pisa did not favour policy learning among actors, but confirmed their pre‐existing opinions and policy stances and that it legitimised them by affixing them with the seal of a statistical international survey.