Many schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Usually these projects are designed by the teacher to either help review past information or to introduce new information to the student. Most of the time these projects are not completed by many students. Summer projects should be designed by students because students who have already taken the class understand the basic knowledge to be successful in the class, students understand what other students will and will not do, and students know what the teacher expects of you.

Students who have already taken the class understand the basic knowledge to be successful in the class. For example Generic_Name, who has already taken Prerequisite Calculus the past year, knows exactly what they learned throughout the year and what basic knowledge she would have liked to know before she began the class. She could make a detailed assignment with all the information needed to be fully prepared for the class while the teacher can only speculate what the students know or dont know. With this information students will come better prepared to the first day of class because they already know what to expect and have viewed some of the information in the, student made, summer project. Another example of students understanding the basic knowledge to be successful in the class is when they all fail the test based on the summer project including, the ones who completed the project. Many of the students believe that the project did not help them fully grasp the concepts presented in it. With their new found knowledge of what is expected to be known on the test they can now help other students by giving them a summer project that will help them understand the concepts fully. This will keep students from having that first test be a failure and have to work the whole entire quarter to bring it up. Also with this information from former students they will be better prepared for the more advanced topics, now that they know the basics. Even if the teacher is able to make a summer project that helps the students understand the basics, they still don't understand what many students will and will not do.

Throughout the summer many students have multiple things to do including sports, work, and hanging out with friends that they have not seen in a while. Students understand this and realize what another student will and will not do. For example Generic_Name, who has recently taken AP Physics, was unable to finish his summer project because he does swimming, basketball, and soccer over the summer. He did not do the assignment because it required him to sit down for multiple hours at a time, that he did not have, if he wanted to fully understand the topics it was going over. Generic_Name and many other students would be more likely to complete the project if they were able to make the project have multiple small sections that can be completed in a half hour instead of 5 hours. This will allow the students time between activities to complete the project, making it more manageable. Many teachers do not understand the limited amount of time some students have over the summer for school work. Another example of students understanding what other students will and will not do is Generic_Name who has a very short attention span, and was unable to finish the 50 page summer project. Many students believe that if they were to shorten the project students would be able to complete it and have better results on it. With this shortened project students will be encouraged to complete it, knowing that it will not consume all of their free time over the summer. They will also show more work and have more quality work because they have less to do. This will allow them to understand the topics more and be more successful in the class. Even if the teacher was able to make a project that all students were willing to do, former students know what the teacher expects of his/her students.

Students who have already taken the class know exactly what the teacher expects from a student in order to have an A or a B in the class. For example Generic_Name, who is taking Prerequisite Chemistry, has failed almost every test and quiz in the class, but fully understands the concepts being taught. Soon he realizes that the teacher expects every bit of work to be shown for every single problem. This includes showing the formula before you even start your work. Knowing this a student would be able to inform another student of this in the summer project. This would allow the students to prepare to show all their work on the tests and quizzes by practicing on the summer project. Many teachers try to make an example on the first quiz by taking points off for students not showing all their work. With the student made project other students would be prepared for this and not fail by forgetting to show all their work. Another example of a student knowing what the teacher expects is when the teacher makes all the work optional including the summer project but, still expects you to know the information. In the summer packet students will be able to inform other students of what information is important to know going into that first week of school. This will allow the students who complete the assignment to be prepared for the school year. Even if the teacher helps the students by telling them the more important information on the packet students who have already taken the class know the basic knowledge needed to pass the class and know what student are willing to do.

In conclusion summer projects should be designed by students because students who have already taken the class know what the teacher is looking for in the students, and know the information needed to pass the class with an A. Also students understand that many students have very limited time to complete a huge assignment over the summer; therefore, they will account for that while creating the project.