At the end of the year, my principal mentioned—again—that he wanted Honors Biology to be the “hardest” ninth grade course. I have tried explaining and showing that my Honors students are having different, more thought-provoking assignments, in addition to going into more depth than my general Biology classes. I think he equates rigor with students doing more work. Suggestions?
—Kiley, Florida
Rigor is a “I know it when I see it” concept. It seems to be a current buzzword as the fourth R, along with reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic. I did a search on “academic rigor” and found dozens of articles, blogs, reports, and position papers using the term, but few defined it.
Having a consensus definition is the first step in determining whether a class fits the definition. (I was part of a Tweetchat on the topic, and most of the discussion was about defining what it is and what it is not.) The cover of the report Understanding and Reporting on Academic Rigor from the Hechinger Institute has a concept map around the word “rigor,” showing how complicated the concept can be. The report is a good read on t
In the paper Debunking the Myth: The Social Studies and Rigor, Barbara Slater Stern states: “… academic rigor will be defined as studies that require students and teachers to pursue knowledge and skills with enough depth and understanding to be able to apply this knowledge and these skills in their daily activities, present and future.” This definition ties into the performance expectations of the Next Generation Science Standards which incorporate disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices. Students are encouraged to think and investigate like scientists.
So it seems like you’re on the right track with the honors class, going in-depth and using challenging activities and investigations. (And there are those who would say that all students should have such experiences at their appropriate level.) But I would ask your principal what he means by “rigor” and what a “hard” course would look like to him.
Unfortunately, people use literal definitions of rigor: difficult and unpleasant conditions or experiences; being very exact, careful, strict, harsh, or inflexible. You may hear, “My course is rigorous because…

• the content is difficult.” Giving students challenging work with no support will turn them off to science. Teachers and students should identify learning goals that are relevant to the subject and appropriate for the interest and experience levels of the students. For example, requiring all first graders to learn the medical names of all of the bones in the human body is not rigorous; it is inappropriate. However, in a challenging and supportive learning environment, some students may feel empowered to go above and beyond the requirements to pursue their interests.

• there is a lot of homework.” Homework assignments should be chosen to introduce topics, supplement the class activities, or provide practice. Lots of busywork, whether completed in class or at home, is not rigor.

• only a few students earn As in the course.” This contradicts effective teaching. If the learning goals are challenging and appropriate, if teachers work with and support students, and if students are learning, why wouldn’t students receive a successful grade in the course? A local university promotes its law school by stating that 93% of its graduates pass the state bar exam. Does that success rate mean the program lacks rigor? In terms of tests, a 100-item multiple choice test is not necessarily rigorous. (The most challenging exam I ever took had one essay question.) And even worse than an unfair or poorly constructed test is the grade distortion of curving poor results to manipulate the number of students who appear successful.

• lecture is the primary mode of instruction.” Science is not only about listening, but engaging in scientific practices: thinking, investigating, arguing from evidence, writing, presenting, reflecting, connecting, and creating.

• I get them ready for real life—no excuses.” Ninth graders are still kids and still learning about responsibility. Being totally inflexible about things such as due dates and test retakes may sound rigorous, but sometimes students need some understanding. They should be allowed to make mistakes and learn from them.

• we’re here to learn, not have fun.” Science is interesting and with a passionate and knowledgeable teacher, students can discover their own interests and talents. For me, the greatest joy was seeing the light bulbs go off, the “aha” moment students had when they figured something out on their own or when ideas came together in a new way.

I would hope your principal would not want you to take the joy out of learning by using ineffective or inappropriate strategies in the cause of making your course hard or rigorous.
For a different play on words, I would encourage you and your principal to read the article What Schools Need: Vigor Instead of Rigor.
I’ve created an NSTA resource collection on “rigor” with the articles mentioned here as well as others to help you (and your principal) explore the topic further.