Research Wednesday | September 17, 2025

What is Rigor?

In this thoughtful article (August 25, 2025) by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey, “Rigor is misunderstood,” the authors say. The central argument is that rigor should not be relegated only to students who are identified as gifted and talented. Moreover, rigor should not be conflated with extra work, longer homework assignments, and endless demands on students. Rather, real rigor is about productive struggle with challenging learning goals. The authors suggest this framework for establishing genuine rigor in the classroom:  

  • Relationships – every student greeted by name at the door

  • Instruction – modeling, with the teacher in contact with every student

  • Goal – clear instructional objectives

  • Organization – materials accessible and clearly arranged

  • Relevance – encouraging students to make real-world connections from the lesson to their lives

The authors suggest that teachers do brief 10-minute observations of their colleagues’ classrooms to identify exemplars of rigor and the resultant student learning.  

Here’s the link:

https://learningforward.org/2025/08/25/rigor-isnt-a-mystery-its-a-mindset-and-a-practice/

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