Reprioritizing and restructuring resources at all educational levels in consonance with these goals is the central task of systemic reform. The systemic reform movement grows out of a complex changing landscape in which economic, financial, and technological infrastructures are undergoing dramatic transformations. Systemic reform weaves together the proposed solutions to these questions so that they are tightly interlaced within the fabric of a particular system, ensuring that they will become a structural and cultural part of the larger whole. Because of the growing importance of technology in all facets of our lives, educators and policymakers increasingly see technology integration as a necessary part of systemic reform as well. Practically speaking, the dilemma of systemic reform is how to incorporate new content standards and pedagogical standards into old schools and school systems.
Reformers recognize that to do so requires changes in every part of the educational system.
It is this surrounding context of structure, culture, and policy that is a central concern of systemic reform initiatives. The content areas of mathematics, science, and technology have been a testing ground for many leading edge systemic reform efforts. For example,the National Association of Teachers of Mathematics led the way in the development of challenging content area standards. The National Science Foundation provided extensive support for systemic initiatives to improve the teaching of math and science. TERC has been no stranger to this field, playing an important role in many kinds of systemic reform efforts over the last several years.