When was the last time you cleaned out your spice cabinet? If you’re like many people, there might be jars in there that haven’t been touched in years. Some of those spices may have lost their flavor, while others might never have been useful to begin with. Now, imagine cooking a meal for a group of people with those outdated spices. The results might not be as delicious as you’d hoped.
This scenario is surprisingly similar to what happens in education. Schools and districts often hold onto outdated or ineffective practices, programs, and interventions—their “expired spices.” While they may have served a purpose at one time, the world of education is constantly evolving, and so are the needs of students and teachers. Without regular reflection and evaluation, these expired practices can linger, holding back progress and wasting valuable resources.
Recognizing the Expired Spices in Education
Outdated educational practices might once have been valuable, but they no longer meet today’s standards or contexts. For example, a program that was effective for native English speakers for decades may not address the realities of today’s diverse classrooms. Yet these practices often persist—sometimes due to inertia (“we’ve always done it this way”) or because they’re familiar and easier to implement than seeking alternatives.
Clinging to these expired strategies can be tempting, especially when replacing them feels daunting. But just as grabbing a flashy new spice without knowing how it will work in your dish can lead to a culinary disaster, swapping out old practices for trendy, untested ones can create challenges. The key is not just change but thoughtful and informed change.
The Consequences of Clinging to Expired Practices
When schools rely on outdated or ineffective practices, the consequences ripple through the entire system. Wasted resources—time, money, and effort—are just the start. Students may fail to reach their potential, and teachers can become frustrated when they are asked to implement strategies that don’t work. For example, imagine a district continuing to rely on a decades-old math program that hasn’t been updated to include current evidence about how students best learn foundational skills. Over time, the gap between the program’s outcomes and students’ needs only widens.
A Fresh Start: Embracing Evaluation to Keep Practices Relevant
Recently, schools have taken advantage of computerized formative assessments to provide actionable information about how their students are learning. Often these tools are highlighting gaps, which provide an ideal starting place for reflection and improvement throughongoing program evaluation. Evaluation isn’t about dismissing the old for the new or chasing trends; it’s about thoughtfully assessing what works, what doesn’t, and why. Effective evaluation asks:
- Is our educational program still supported by the best evidence?
- Does data indicate that this program or practice is effective at addressing the needs of students and teachers?
- Does this approach align with current goals and resources?
This process requires relevant data and collaboration among educators, administrators, and researchers, as well as input from students and families. Stakeholders need to ask not just, “What do we have?” but also, “Why do we have it, and is it still serving us?”
The Role of Change: Adapting to New Contexts
Here’s where the spice cabinet analogy deepens. In cooking, our tastes change, new ingredients and recipes become available, and the people we’re cooking for may have different preferences or needs. Similarly, education is constantly evolving:
- Students Are Changing: Shifts in demographics, learning styles, and needs require rethinking how we approach teaching and learning. In 2025, it is estimated that the majority of students in the US belong to a minority group.
- Teachers Are Changing: New generations of educators bring different training, strengths, and challenges. The pandemic increased the demands on teachers and reduced the supply, changing the culture of schools dramatically.
- The Research Landscape Is Changing: Advances in educational research continually uncover new strategies, tools, and insights that are effective. Research supporting effective programs for specific goals, such as early literacy or success in algebra has increased exponentially.
Recognizing and adapting to these changes is essential. A program that worked beautifully five years ago might now need updating—not because it’s inherently bad, but perhaps the “dish” it’s meant to enhance has changed or a new recipe requiring different ingredients holds promise for satisfying the palette.
Clearing Out the Expired Spices
When schools commit to regularly evaluating and updating their practices, the benefits are clear. Educators can focus on a smaller set of high-impact strategies, reducing the sense of being overwhelmed and increasing effectiveness. Students benefit from programs that are not only research-backed but also tailored to their current needs. And teachers gain confidence and satisfaction knowing the tools they’re given are both practical and impactful.
This isn’t about replacing every old practice wholesale; it’s about making thoughtful decisions. Just as a home cook might retain a well-aged cinnamon that still delivers robust flavor, schools can retain time-tested practices that continue to prove their worth. But it’s equally important to recognize when something has lost its effectiveness and make room for fresh, relevant alternatives.
Taste-testing
Vegetable beef soup is the traditional New Year’s dish in my family, but this year, the grandchildren, not a fan of soup, requested chili. The grandkids loved it. Some of the adults thought it was a little bland. Data for the next round. Change is always a process, and monitoring progress towards intended goals is the key to success.
This past year, implementing programs tied to the Science of Reading has required a great deal of change for elementary school teachers. Strategies have varied widely. Some states have demanded new materials. Others, teacher training. Some have focused on a combination. Some of these will work, others will not. All will need monitoring and adaptation for the desired (and critically important) goal, dramatically improved early reading outcomes to be achieved. Ongoing evaluation, and ongoing attention to that evaluation, will be the key to moving our nation to success in early literacy. Postpandemic, less than 20% of our urban students can read proficiently by 4th grade.
Conclusion: Restocking the Spice Cabinet with Intention
Reorganizing the spice cabinet is a task that requires intentionality and judgement, and can make all the difference in creating meals that delight and nourish. Similarly, regularly evaluating and updating educational practices requires thoughtful decision making, a clear understanding of needs and goals, and relevant data to determine whether a practice is useful.
The result? Schools that are equipped to serve students and teachers effectively. This new year, let’s commit to clearing out the expired spices in our educational systems, making room for strategies that truly enhance learning and growth.
