Yes, but at a reasonable level, right? I mean, a ten year old shouldn't be expected to do 2 hours of reading nightly for homework. If it does take that long, I think that indicates a poor placement or totally irrational expectations. It's hard to say which is which, and all of us here probably struggle with the fact that the yardstick here is totally skewed when your kid is HG+.
My DD can (and has) read hundreds of pages of material in a few hours, and most people (never mind agemates) cannot. On the other hand, I can almost certainly guarantee that a series of relatively simple, but repetitive homework questions that really aren't TEACHING her anything would take a very... very... long time.
When I hear stories from other parents about their kids needing 2hr NIGHTLY to keep up with the reading demands in some high school courses (AP, usually), though, I do have to wonder if they have a class with THAT much reading? Or is it that their child probably finds the course placement a bit much? I simply don't know. But in any event, my DD doesn't seem to need even a fraction of the time to keep up, and I'm equally convinced that I'd not sign her up for that kind of time commitment given the opportunity cost.
"Reasonable" to me means spending 5-7 hours a WEEK combined-- doing things like reading a primary source for a class discussion, collecting material for a research paper, producing a draft of an essay, working through math problems that ask a student to synthesize information already learned in class... that kind of thing.
I agree, and you expressed this much more clearly than I could have.
I also have to say that parents on both sides seem to create some of these problems as well, at least in my area. Many in this thread have already discussed the parental pushers, but I've also seen the parental slackers who get upset with any amount of homework because it interferes with sports and other extra curricular activities. Are their kids *really* spending 4+ hours every night, or are there *some* parents who are exaggerating because it fits their agenda? Don't know, but I do know the slacker group is out there.
