Why Students Struggle with Executive Functioning More Than Ever

Years ago, schools carried much of the executive functioning load for students. Teachers walked them through the process: write it down, take it out, turn it in. If something was missing, students recorded reminders in their planners. There was a shared system, and teachers were not just managing the process; they were teaching it, scaffolding each step so students could build these skills over time. Work was done on paper with clear, teacher-created directions, and structure was built into the day, making follow-through far more manageable.

Now, much of that responsibility has shifted onto students. They are expected to locate assignments, track deadlines, manage materials, navigate multiple platforms, complete work, and submit it correctly, often with minimal guidance and significant variation across classes. In many schools, there is no consistent system, so students must remember multiple processes across their classes.

This creates a heavy cognitive load, especially for students still developing executive functioning skills. It can overtax working memory and lead to confusion, missed steps, and frustration that often surfaces as after-school meltdowns.

This shift becomes even more significant when we consider development. Executive functioning skills continue to mature into early adulthood, often into the mid-twenties. Yet many students are expected to manage complex systems independently. When they struggle, it is often labeled as a deficit, when in many cases the demands themselves are not developmentally aligned.

This is not just theoretical. It shows up in the day-to-day experiences of students. When we look more closely, clear patterns begin to emerge that help explain why so many capable students are struggling.

The Real Problem: Inconsistent Systems

One of the biggest issues is inconsistency. Students are not working within one clear system. They are often navigating several systems at once.

One teacher may use Google Classroom. Another may use Canvas. Another may organize materials differently within the same platform. Assignments may be posted in different places, named in different ways, and submitted through different steps.

So students are not just learning content. They are constantly trying to figure out how each class functions.

That is where things start to fall apart.

I have had sessions where it took nearly the entire time just to figure out what a student's homework was. By the time we found it, the student was already frustrated, mentally drained, and in no state to begin the actual work.

How Schools May Be Reinforcing Executive Dysfunction

This is the part that can be difficult to say, but it needs to be said. In many cases, schools are unintentionally reinforcing executive dysfunction instead of strengthening executive functioning.

Students are being trained to wait. They wait for assignments to be posted. They wait for teachers to clarify expectations. They wait for study guides and rubrics, often just a day or two before a test.

Then, when someone suggests studying earlier by using notes, slides, or prior class materials, many students resist. Not because they are unwilling, but because they have learned to depend on last-minute direction.

That pattern works against how learning and memory actually develop.

Why This Matters

Students need spaced repetition. They need time to revisit information, make connections, and build memory over time. When schools encourage students to wait until the teacher hands them a test rubric a couple of days before an exam, they are nurturing cramming rather than teaching students how to study effectively.

Instead of developing planning, pacing, and review habits, students are being conditioned to react at the last minute. That does not build independence. It builds dependency on external prompts.

Technology Is Adding More Friction

Technology can be helpful, but right now, it is often adding more executive functioning strain instead of reducing it.

Students are managing multiple passwords, confusing submission steps, pop-ups, distractions, online portals, and programs that can be glitchy or inconsistent. Even when they complete the work, there are still many ways for the process to break down.

A student may do the assignment, go to submit it, get distracted by a notification, and forget the last step. Or they may think they turned it in, but miss a final confirmation button. Then they lose points, and it looks like carelessness when really it is often a systems problem.

Schools are relying more and more on online programs, but many of these systems are still clunky, buggy, and inconsistent. Students are the ones paying the price when those systems do not work smoothly.

High School Should Be Preparing Students for College

Another major issue is that high schools should be preparing students for the kind of executive functioning demands they will face in college.

In college, students are expected to use a syllabus, see the bigger picture, map out deadlines, and manage long-term assignments with more independence. But many students are not being taught how to read, use, and manage a syllabus in high school.

Instead, they are becoming used to short-term directions, last-minute posting of assignments, and teacher-driven reminders. That makes the transition to college much harder than it needs to be.

Skills Students Should Be Learning

Students need to be explicitly taught how to:

• read and use a syllabus
• map out assignments in advance
• break long-term work into smaller steps
• study with spaced repetition instead of cramming
• create routines for tracking and submitting work

These are not minor extras. They are essential executive functioning skills.

What Schools Need to Do Differently

1. Create a School-Wide System

Schools need a more unified system that every teacher and student uses consistently. There should be a clear and predictable way that assignments are posted, organized, and submitted. Students should not have to relearn the process in every class.

2. Reduce Unnecessary Variation

Teachers do not all need to use different platforms, different structures, and different procedures. Too much variation creates unnecessary cognitive load. When students use their mental energy just trying to navigate the system, there is less energy left for learning.

3. Teach Executive Functioning Directly

Executive functioning should not be assumed. It should be taught. Students need direct instruction in planning, organization, time management, follow-through, and studying effectively over time.

What Students Need Most

Students do not simply need more pressure or more reminders to try harder. They need clear systems, consistent expectations, and support that actually helps them manage the demands being placed on them.

They also need adults to understand what is really going on.

Many capable students are being mislabeled as lazy, careless, or unmotivated when the real issue is that the system is too complicated, too inconsistent, and too demanding for where they are developmentally.

Sometimes, the most important thing a student can hear is this: this is not because you are lazy. The system is hard, and we are going to figure it out together.

Learn More and Explore Support

I recently explored this topic more deeply in Episode 100: Executive Function Crisis in Students on The Executive Function Brain Trainer Podcast. In that episode, we unpack why so many students are struggling and how today’s school systems are placing a greater executive functioning load on learners than ever before.

If you are looking for practical tools, strategies, and materials to support these skills, you can also explore my Executive Functioning Resources page. It brings together resources designed to support planning, organization, working memory, follow-through, and other key executive functioning skills in practical, engaging ways.

Final Thoughts

Students today are being asked to manage more than ever before, but the systems around them are not making that easier. In many cases, they are making it harder.

If schools want students to succeed, they need to do more than expect independence. They need to create consistency, reduce unnecessary complexity, teach executive functioning directly, and prepare students for the demands ahead.

When we improve the system, we do more than reduce overwhelm. We give capable students a fairer chance to thrive.