<p>I was wondering whether technology might explain some of the reduction in time spent. I would imagine that you could knock off an hour two for every paper that you write in college–maybe more. My D pointed out that research can also be done much more quickly with Internet resources, and the ability to search within documents. And could it be that some of the more time-consuming college courses are now being completed in high school through AP?</p>
<p>I did find it significant that the schools where students seem to spend more hours on academic work were schools where students tend not to have jobs.</p>
<p>cross-posted with barrons</p>