So teachers know that the easiest approach for them may be simply to wait out attempts at reform. Most significantly, there is a substantial gap between the time at which the initial cost of reform is incurred, and the time when it is evident whether the benefits of reform will actually materialise. While timing complicates the politics of reform in many domains, it seems to have a greater impact on education reform, where the lags often involve many years. It is a long way to successful reform implementation, failure is often just one small step away. As a result, the political cycle may have a direct impact on the timing, scope and content of education reform. Education reform becomes a thankless task when elections take place before the benefits of reform are realised.