Most people have completed group projects. Some people like them and some don’t. We are told that they help prepare us for the real world, but they almost always end up being unfair and infuriating. The way group projects are designed leaves each person with an unequal workload, defeating the purpose of the assignment. Often, diligent people end up in unfair groups, leaving their efforts unrewarded, while slackers who are put in hard-working groups are rewarded for nothing. 

Every group project has one or more people slacking off and not doing any work, leaving the people who care about their grade to take all of the responsibility. Then, even with this imbalance of work, each member always ends up receiving the same grade. There are no real consequences for students who choose not to do their work, making this problem feel impossible to solve.

Another reason group projects are outdated is that they mainly reward extroversion rather than good ideas. The dominant people with loud voices usually benefit when it comes to group projects rather than quieter students. Even when the quieter students are more capable, they are often put to the side because of their introverted personality and how they work better alone.

Also, grades in group projects rarely reflect individual effort as it is hard to know who exactly did what. This leads to unfair results for each person because some people do too much work, while others don’t do enough. If someone is lucky enough to be put in a group with the smartest person, then their grade is probably going to reflect that, regardless of the work they put in.

In conclusion, group projects are unfair and outdated because of uneven work loads, unfair grading, lack of accountability and many other reasons.