Concerns about a decline in literacy and numeracy standards in New Zealand are longstanding. Such concerns have again come to the fore with the introduction of the Education (National Standards) Amendment Act 2008. In this paper we track the debates leading up to the new legislation, focusing on the political struggles and the way in which games of truth, power and knowledge are played out in a bid to reconstruct thinking and action about literacy and numeracy. Such truth games have resonances within all educational enterprises, influencing the way we think about the key skills deemed appropriate for dealing with everyday civic life.