But even something like a CS101 assignment takes longer to read than to write, at least for me. This is a common enough starement that I assume I'm not alone.

In fact, I'll often sketch out a block diagram or some pseudocode if I'm having trouble grokking something I'm reading just to help me get into the proper mindset. I agree this is a problem with the current state of the field, but I haven't seen any good solutions, only hacks and workarounds.