From elementary school to high school and, in some cases, even in college, students are given group projects. The explanation that most school systems give for these stressful and difficult assignments is that later in life, when in the work force, kids will eventually have to complete large projects with their co-workers as they pursue their future careers. However, are these supposed “benefits” worth the amount of worry and pressure that comes along with group assignments?

When groups are assigned, a student could end up being forced to work with people that they’ve never met before, making meeting outside of the classroom difficult and somewhat uncomfortable. This only adds stressful situations to the already hectic school atmosphere. As well as further complicating the lives of students, group projects often mean that one or two people will inevitably have to finish the entire project alone. Working in groups only makes it easier for kids to get away with doing the bare minimum. Over the years, I’ve witnessed several friends frantically trying to complete their projects during lunch hours because either their group members failed to send them their portion of the work, or their group didn’t do anything at all, leaving them with the entire assignment. Kids should not have to struggle to maintain their grades by staying up until 4 a.m. doing a whole project themselves that was meant to be a group effort.

Even giving students the opportunity to choose their groups themselves can cause problems, If someone doesn’t know many other people in a certain class, they will almost always be left as the odd-one-out with no group to work with. This can be an embarrassing situation to be caught in. Working with friends also means that some still might not do their part of the project or group size limitations could leave one student out of their friend group. This can cause heightened tensions between otherwise close classmates.

Group projects only cause even more stress, pressure, and worry in the already busy life of a student. Especially in high school, when GPA is most important, kids shouldn’t have to worry about other people affecting their grades. If schools must continue giving out group assignments, students should be monitored more closely to ensure that they are doing their part of the work.