Just before the bell rings to dismiss students for year, teachers are struggling to keep the attention of students when explaining their summer assignments for the break. The students know that the summer assignments are important, but their attention is on the bell that declares summer vacation. Summer assignments are designed to ensure that students continue their intellectual journey over breaks. Both teacher-designed projects and student-designed projects accomplish this goal, however, one of the biggest challenges is deciding whether teacher-designed projects or student-designed project would do a better job at accomplishing this goal. The best way to ensure that students continue learning over break is to assign teacher-designed projects. Summer projects should be teacher-designed because teachers have a better understanding of the material, the project will be less stressful for students, and teacher-designed projects will prevent misjudgment of students by teachers.

Teachers should design summer projects because they have a better understanding of the material they are trying to teach. They also tend to have a clear understanding of what they expect from students for the projects they assign. By assigning teacher-designed summer projects, the teacher can guide the students to learn what the teachers want them to discover. They also provide a more specific rubric so the students know exactly what is expected of them. For example, AP Biology has a lot of material that needs to be covered in just one year. To solve this issue, they assign a teacher-designed summer assignment that consists of an introduction to each unit learned throughout the year. This way, students are prepared when going in depth with all of the concepts in class because they already have a grasp of the topic learned during break. By assigning teacher designed projects, teachers can guide the students to ensure that what they are learning and exploring can help them perform better in class.

Another reason teachers should design the summer project, is that the project will be less stressful to students overall. Although teachers are expected to be unbiased, they will always have personal beliefs that may clash with a student's beliefs. During student-designed projects over the summer, students do not know the personal beliefs and preferences of their teacher because many students have not spent much time with their future teacher. Student-designed projects are often stressful in this situation because students do not always know the teacher's expectations. Students do not want to receive a lower grade on their project because of the biases of the teacher. Students also feel anxious because they never know if their project is unique enough to get a good grade and if the teacher will find it as interesting as the student. For example, many science classes require students to conduct experiments in a field they find interesting. Not only is this assignment very vague, but it is also unfair. There are many different ways a student could take this project and some projects require more time and effort than others. For example, testing to see the effects of personal care products that get into waterways on marine life requires a lot more time, effort, and materials compared to testing which brand of paint needs the least amount to coats to adequately cover the walls. Both of the projects meet the criteria, but one project may be considered better than the other by a teacher. This gives many students anxiety because they never know if their project is good enough. Student-designed projects are too stressful and often end up diminishing the quality of the student's summer break by giving them anxiety.

Some teachers may argue that student-designed summer projects are an outlet for students to show their creativity. They believe that students can showcase their intellectual level by completing student-designed projects and the teachers can get a better understanding of their students' beliefs and preferences through student-designed projects. However, student-designed projects are not always the best reflection of the students and their work ethic. Many students go on vacation during the summer for extended periods of time and may not always be able to do what they actually wanted to do. Many students visit family in places that do not have the internet or adequate resources to complete the project that they wanted to complete. For example, if a student wanted to test the effects of personal care products that get into waterways on marine life, it would be impossible for them to do so if their relatives lived in an underdeveloped and remote village in India because they would not have access to the materials they need. However, with teacher-designed projects, students can work with their future teacher to plan ahead to complete the assignment or complete a different assignment entirely depending on their situation. Students would not be forced to settle for something that is not a true reflection of their work ethic because of their circumstances.

Teacher-designed projects are the best way for schools to ensure that students continue learning material for classes during break without causing anxiety in students or misjudgment of students by teachers. Summer projects are meant to help students but student-designed projects can sometimes harm students instead. Every student should be allowed to spend their summer without stressing about how they will be perceived by their fellow classmates and teachers the next year. Summer projects should encourage students to continue to learning while also spending quality time with their family and friends during their break.