This article explores the struggles over the development of new national tests for the Danish public school system before, during, and after the lockdown of society due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The article throws light on the stakeholder positions, arguments, and discourses involved in assessment policy formation with particular attention on the national tests as the key component of the new assessment system. Drawing on policy documents, media news stories, and interviews with teachers, school leaders, politicians, and civil servants at the municipal and national levels, the article adds to our understanding of how assessment policies come into existence and offers reflections on the implications and conditions for how assessment systems may evolve.