A Rigorous IB Education

What Makes an IB Education Rigorous?

A word that is often mentioned in discussions about education today is “rigor”. This word can have many different interpretations by parents, teachers, students, policy-makers and the general public. As an IB World School, McGraw has a high standard of rigor to aim for in the education of students. Our definition of rigor is in alignment with the philosophy of IB as we apply research-based best practices in international education that successfully prepare students for the challenges of the world they graduate into.

As the McGraw staff strives to challenge McGraw students with rigorous learning experiences, the following practices guide our instructional planning and delivery.

Rigor in the classroom is established by:

• Involving students actively in their own learning
• Engaging students with rich, relevant content
• High level questioning (by adults and students)
• Providing opportunities for students to express voice and choice
• Emphasis on depth of learning, not just coverage
• Focusing on the quality of student work rather than on the quantity
• Challenging all students to use critical thinking skills (such as analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating information and making inferences, considering multiple perspectives of an issue, defending a position and reflecting on their learning)
• Using ongoing assessment to identify students’ current level of understanding and adjust instruction to meet individual needs
• Empowering students to apply what they learned through self-initiated action in the community

The following practices are often falsely described as being indicators of rigor. Rigor is not:

• Assigning students a greater quantity of work than normally expected
• Teaching all students the same way
• Lecturing and drilling students as the primary means of instruction
• Filling an empty vessel with knowledge
• Based on test results alone

Parents should feel encouraged that the education their children receive at McGraw IB World School is indeed rigorous. We are thankful  for everything parents do at home and at school this to support the rigor of children’s learning experiences at McGraw!