Over the past decade knowledge and skills of pupils in the Netherlands have been assessed both in national and international assessment programmes. National assessment has focused on pupils in primary education up to the age of twelve; international assessment has also tested students aged fourteen-fifteen. Reading, mathematics and sciences have been among the subjects assessed. In this paper we will analyse the strategy of the Dutch government in running these programmes related to the impact of the outcomes on education policy. We will discuss the outcomes reflecting on the student sample, the framework, the content, the item format and the background questionnaires used, and the conclusions drawn.