Academic Rigor and Christian Formation at ICS
By Toby A. Travis, Ed.D.
Abstract
Families want to know that their children are being challenged and prepared well for life. At Intermountain Christian School, that means looking carefully at what students understand, how they apply their learning, and how they grow through feedback and revision. This article explains five practices of genuine rigor and their place in Christian education, where academic learning should help students love God with their minds and serve their neighbors with wisdom.
When families ask whether ICS provides enough academic rigor, they are asking an important question. They have entrusted us with their children’s education, and they deserve a clear answer. As Head of School, I believe that answer needs to include evidence of what students are learning and how they are growing.
We first need to agree on what rigor means. A heavy homework load does not establish rigor. Neither does an advanced course title. I have known students who moved easily through AP and university courses without much challenge. Rigor depends on what instruction asks of the individual learner. It requires teachers to know their students well enough to help each one take a meaningful next step.
“Rigor requires teachers to know their students well enough to help each one take a meaningful next step.”
What rigorous teaching requires
Start with what the student already knows. The National Academies identifies prior knowledge as an important influence on new learning.[1] Teachers need to uncover misunderstandings and recognize when a student is ready to move further. That requires differentiated instruction and assessment. The goal is a challenge the student can work through with appropriate support. We should expect some struggle, and we should respond when a student remains lost.
Students also need opportunities to discover connections and develop explanations of their own. This takes considerable teacher guidance. A meta-analysis of 164 studies found benefits for assisted discovery, while unassisted discovery generally performed worse than explicit instruction.[2] Good teachers explain and model. They also know when to ask a question and give students time to think. Our aim is for students to understand the learning well enough to make it their own.
Then we need to see students use what they have learned. Can they apply mathematics to a budget? Can they evaluate evidence before accepting a claim? Authentic assessment asks students to demonstrate understanding in a task with a real purpose. Even in a group project, each student should be able to explain the thinking behind the work.
Feedback must tell students how to improve. A grade cannot do that on its own. A 2020 meta-analysis of 435 studies found that the effects of feedback varied, with its information content influencing effectiveness.[3] “Explain how this evidence supports your conclusion” gives a student something to work on. Feedback needs to be specific to the learner and timely enough to be useful.
And we have to give students time to use it. Revision belongs in the learning process. If we return an assignment and immediately move on, we may miss the best opportunity to deepen understanding. Doing this well takes time. We may need fewer assignments or less superficial coverage so students can work carefully with essential content. Facts matter because students need knowledge to think with.
“If we return an assignment and immediately move on, we may miss the best opportunity to deepen understanding.”
Ron Berger’s “Austin’s Butterfly” offers a helpful illustration. A first grader at ANSER Charter School in Boise, Idaho, improved a scientific butterfly drawing through specific peer feedback and successive drafts.[4] Looking at those drafts, we can see the benefit of staying with the work. That is the kind of evidence I want us to examine at ICS: where a student began, what helped, and what the student can now do.
Why this matters in a Christian school
Our mission describes ICS as a Christ-centered learning community that exists to equip and inspire students to thrive in God’s world. I believe authentic Christian education requires us to take both the learning and its purpose seriously. We want students to develop knowledge they can use faithfully.
Our “All In!” theme draws us to Mark 12:30 and the call to love God with our minds. In the surrounding passage, Jesus joins love for God with love for our neighbors. That gives academic effort a deeply practical purpose. Reasoning carefully, recognizing error, or understanding another person’s circumstances can help us serve others well.
Biblical integration should reach into the substance of a lesson. Science invites careful study of God’s creation and responsible stewardship. Mathematics requires accuracy and can help us make honest decisions about resources. History and literature give us opportunities to consider human dignity, sin, justice, and redemption. Those connections deserve thoughtful teaching, with careful attention to the subject itself.
Imagine an ICS class working with a local ministry to understand a food need in the Salt Lake community. Students could investigate what would actually help, calculate costs, and propose a response. Teachers could give feedback on their reasoning and require revisions. Students would need to explain both their calculations and how their proposal respects the people being served. This is one possible learning experience, and it illustrates the connection Teaching for Transformation encourages between classroom learning and participation in God’s world. The academic work should make the service more thoughtful and useful.
Bible instruction deserves the same care. Before asking how a passage applies to us, students should consider its original audience and context. What did the author intend those hearers to understand? Students need to explain their interpretation from the text. Memorization has value, and James 1:22 reminds us that hearing the Word should lead to living it.
We must also remember what a grade cannot tell us. We can assess a student’s interpretation and reasoning; we cannot grade the heart. Every student bears God’s image, including the child who needs more time or a different explanation. Christian teachers can hold high expectations while showing patience. Students should be able to ask honest questions and admit confusion without fear of humiliation.
What I hope our community will look for
For families, a useful conversation might begin with, “Show me something you improved after receiving feedback.” If your child is seldom challenged, or regularly overwhelmed, please talk with the teacher. We need that partnership to understand the child’s experience.
For faculty and staff, the responsibility includes clear expectations and coordinated support. School leaders must give teachers time to plan, respond to student work, and revisit learning. We cannot ask for depth while treating the pace of coverage as our main measure of success.
We should also check what lasts. Can students explain an important idea weeks later or use it in an unfamiliar situation? Research supports retrieval practice across varied classroom settings, so brief recall activities and quizzes have a useful place alongside authentic tasks.[5] Look, too, for students noticing their own errors and needing less adult prompting.
These are the conversations I want us to have about rigor at ICS. Together, we can look closely at the learning, respond to individual needs, and keep our mission before us as we equip and inspire students to thrive in God’s world.
Endnotes
1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures. National Academies Press. Read source
2. Alfieri, L., Brooks, P. J., Aldrich, N. J., & Tenenbaum, H. R. (2011). Does discovery-based instruction enhance learning? Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(1), 1–18. Read source
3. Wisniewski, B., Zierer, K., & Hattie, J. (2020). The power of feedback revisited: A meta-analysis of educational feedback research. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 3087. Read source
4. EL Education. Austin’s Butterfly: Models, Critique, and Descriptive Feedback [Video featuring Ron Berger; hosted by Brigham Young University–Idaho]. Classroom illustration, not a controlled research study. Read source
5. Agarwal, P. K., Nunes, L. D., & Blunt, J. R. (2021). Retrieval practice consistently benefits student learning: A systematic review of applied research in schools and classrooms. Educational Psychology Review, 33, 1409–1453. Read source
Generative AI disclosure: OpenAI’s ChatGPT was used to assist with drafting, revising, and identifying research sources for this article (September 2026).
©2026 Toby A. Travis. All rights reserved.
