Aim of curriculum reform

New curriculum content and teaching strategies ask that students not only master factual knowledge but learn to apply that knowledge by reasoning and solving novel problems. If the reform is successful, content and pedagogical characteristics of instruction will need to change dramatically as will the classroom assessments.
(From http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/assment/as5curri.htm)

In other words, curriculum reform shifts from diligent drill and practice to focus on students’ understanding and application of knowledge.