A study of Norwegian schools achieving good national test results

•National tests.•Developing classroom practice.•Practice architecture.

This article presents a qualitative case study of seven Norwegian schools that over a period of at least three years have achieved good results on national tests. The schools are situated in socioeconomic areas where one statistically would not expect such results. This article sheds light on how national tests influence various elements of practice in these schools: specifically how school leaders, teachers, and pupils talk about the tests; how they prepare their pupils for the tests; and how they use the test results. We found there is a gap between the participants’ opinions of national tests and their practice when applying the tests results.