Originally Posted by HowlerKarma
He specifically describes algebra homework which is 10-11 problems per evening, yes? Assume for a moment that this is two, maybe three types of problems-- seems entirely in line with the idea of reasonable repetition for mastery of the concept.

Indeed... 10 to 11 problems of simplifying polynomials, which takes him 40 minutes.

Yeah, I suppose 40 minutes, for an adult who hasn't used algebra in ages, and was an uninspired student in the first place, makes sense. But for the student who is actively doing it and understands the concepts, there's no reason for it to take more than 2 minutes per problem. That's a 22-minute homework assignment for the average student, and 11 minutes (or less) for the gifted one.