Ellington middle school to move from quarter reporting to unit-based 1–4 scale; PRIDE work-habit score to be included in course grades

The Ellington Board of Education heard a detailed presentation on June 10 about planned changes to middle school grading that the district intends to implement next school year.

Michelle Moser, the district’s middle-school lead for the grading project, told the board administrators plan to move away from quarter-based reporting and toward unit-based reporting in the gradebook. Each unit will carry a year-to-date academic grade and a separate PRIDE score for work habits and participation. Both the academic and PRIDE scores will use a 1–4 numeric rubric (4 = exceeding, 3 = meeting, 2 = approaching, 1 = not meeting), with a final course letter grade produced from those unit scores over the year.

Moser said the changes are intended to make reporting clearer for parents and students, increase student accountability and align grading more closely with the written curriculum. Teachers will publish a unit “cover sheet” before each unit that lists the standards to be taught, major assessments and which behaviors or assignments will be included in the PRIDE score.

Under the plan, homework and other work-habit items will usually be recorded under PRIDE (often scored for completion rather than accuracy). Summative assessments—quizzes, projects and other graded work demonstrating academic proficiency—will be recorded under the academic score. Moser said the district will keep the existing distinction between academic mastery and work habits but will calculate a single course letter grade that includes both components.

Board members asked how the PRIDE component would differ across subjects and whether including it in the letter grade would cause grades to “inflate” or create discontinuities when students transition to high school. Moser and colleagues described a year-long pilot and teacher/parent feedback process in which staff and parent groups tested the format; they reported that most PRIDE scores trend at “meeting” or “exceeding” (3–4) and that, on aggregate, adding PRIDE to letter grades tended to raise averages rather than lower them in the pilot data. The presenters emphasized that teachers had been asked to define explicitly, on unit cover sheets, what PRIDE will include for that course so parents can see whether PRIDE equals homework completion, participation, or other work habits in a particular class.

Board members also asked how students who struggle on a single unit (for example, fractions in math) will recover. Administrators said the unit view gives clearer diagnostic information and allows targeted interventions tied to a specific unit rather than an aggregated quarter grade; students will continue to have opportunities for revision on summative assessments when that is part of the teacher’s practice.

The presentation used screenshots from Infinite Campus and examples of a French class and seventh-grade math to demonstrate how assignments tied to multiple standards previously appeared multiple times and caused confusion; the new approach is meant to reduce duplication of entries and improve clarity. Moser said the district will continue soliciting teacher and parent feedback in the coming months and expects to publish unit cover sheets and guidance for families before the start of school.

Board members did not vote on the presentation; administrators offered the plan as the next-year grading implementation and answered questions about the pilot, the role of PRIDE and how the district will communicate changes to families.

The board moved on to other agenda items after the questions were completed.