As Germany is embarking on a new government envisioning new educational reforms, a good starting point is asking why it proved so difficult to advance the education agenda over the last decade. A good part of the answer may not lie in the ‘What’ but in the ‘How’ and ‘Why’ of educational reform. Educational reform is often seen as a technical problem to be solved with policies, incentives, and structural changes. However, history and research suggest that successful educational transformations begin with a compelling ‘Why.’