Students have never been taught that they should do work in advance.

If there is test on a given day, they will cram the night before. Some will be successful, some will be more successful, some will be less successful.

If homework is due on a certain day, then they will do the same thing. They will do the homework the night before the assignment is to be done. Then if a problem arises they will express their problem to the teacher saying that's why they couldn't do well on the test or they couldn't hand in the assignment on time, because of the problem the night before.

The concept of doing things in advance doesn't exist.

Homework should be done the same day that it is assigned. It is a way of reviewing the material that was done in class very often and postponing the homework to the day before it is due defeats its purpose.

Tests should be studied throughout the year on a continuing basis, not just at the very last minute.

Students who are given vocabulary tests say that it doesn't help them to have the tests anyhow because they just cram for the tests. They learn the words briefly and then they forget these words soon after.

The truth is that they are right. If they cram for the tests, then they are not going to remember things on a long term basis.

This means that the goal of education is defeated, but the students are defeating it and that means that rather than having a decent education, they are preparing themselves to receive a mark or a grade and even that they are not doing well.

Students have to be taught to prepare their work in advance. They need to learn that the time right before a test is the wrong time to study. By then they should know everything.

Even a last minute review before a test is not always advisable. It may be best right before a test, instead of cramming, instead of sweating for it, to relax.