This article investigates the failure of introducing comprehensive schooling in Austria, one of few 'conservative' outliers in the European post-war reform trend where early selection survived reform attempts in the 1970s. In particular, the focus is on the most recent attempt to postpone tracking from the age of 10-14 in the wake of Austria's 'PISA-shock' in the 2000s. Based on in-depth process tracing and drawing on interviews and documentary sources this article examines the nuances of contemporary politics of comprehensive schooling reforms, assessing the interplay between PISA and long-standing reform barriers, the ambivalence of political parties in comprehensive schooling reforms and the role of policy feedback effects on broader societal support for reform.