ABSTRACT
The chapter raises the question: What does it mean to understand PISA as infrastructure? The author draws on Keller Easterling’s book “Extrastatecraft: The Power of Infrastructure” to analyse how the concepts of active form, stories and extrastatecraft help understand how PISA is transforming education hidden in plain sight; and to analyse the striking parallels between ISO 9000 (the quality management standards) and PISA. Easterling’s theory distinguishes between the declared intent of infrastructure and its underlying disposition, thus highlighting PISA’s inherent agency as opposed to its declared content. The chapter shows how the politics written into the global infrastructure space diverge from the declared intent, often acting as an essential partner for the state whilst also being beyond the reach of state jurisdiction.
