text: Teacher-designed summer projects prepare students for the course by ensuring that they know important background information that will help them succeed later in the year. For example, every summer, the math department at my high school posts review packets for each class; these packets are made and edited by the teachers each year and include what they have found to be the most crucial topics for students to understand in order to succeed in their classes. The teachers' experience and expertise make the packets beneficial for students, as all of the information they have selected is considered to be vital. This allows students to be fully prepared for the course, because if they understand all of the background information in the packet, then they have all the tools they need to learn and understand new material later in the year. It also ensures that students do not forget any information they learned in the previous year, or, if they did forget it, that they relearn it. In contrast, if students tried to design their own summer packet, they may waste time reviewing unimportant topics and completely ignore more crucial ones, leaving them ill-prepared for the year ahead.