This is basically what I did for myself. I realized pretty early on that grades weren't a very good measure for what I was getting out of a subject and excess h

This is basically what I did for myself. I realized pretty early on that grades weren't a very good measure for what I was getting out of a subject and excess homework/busywork wasn't a good way for me to spend my time. Anectdote time: In my junior year AP history class my teacher insisted that for the first month of class everyone had to read the textbook and write extensive notes that he would review in class the next day. I did it for two days before I realized it was a complete waste of my time, and on the third day when he asked me where my notes were I told him, in front of the whole class, that it wasn't helpful and I wouldn't be doing it again. He said ok and continued around the room looking at everyone's notes. Out of a class of ~15 students I was the only one who stopped taking notes. Either everyone else got something from it or they were too afraid to stop. I bet the later. I was never an amazing student, but did end up with an A in the class and a 4 on the AP exam. So, yeah, I'd say that if you are "designing" a homework policy it should be based around a students understanding, not the number of problems they completed on a particular assignment.