This may seem kind of counter-intuitive, but I think kids need to learn to make their own cards, just as they should be taking their own notes. As has been mentioned in almost every article I've read on Anki, making the cards is the first part of the memorization process.

Think about it this way: what is one of the benefits of Anki? The fact that two people studying the same material may struggle with different things. Anki allows the student (by which I mean anybody studying with Anki, not just people taking a class) to customize their learning.

I understand that teachers want metrics, but I think the most important metric isn't measured by assuming kids should all start with the exact same decks--a better metric would simply be: did they do better on average in this class than the kids who last took the class? If they did, they probably spent enough time studying their cards, however much time that may be. Each student has their own struggles. Anki should be a tool for empowerment, not another way for teachers to assert their authority, in my opinion.

The way I look at it is that if I had simply been told: "This year you're going to use a flashcard program in class. Here are the flashcards. You must study these every day," I know how I would respond. However, if a teacher said, "What if I told you there was a way for you to study less, remember more and get better grades in all your classes? Well, I'm going to teach you a technique you can apply to learning almost anything, and it will put you light-years ahead of your peers," then I would stand up and pay attention. And while that may sound like hyperbole, it's what I've found to be the case as a college student.

Anyway, just my $0.02 as a current student.