Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Grading Equity topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Middletown outlines new ‘grading for equity’ practices; middle school grades standardized, high school offers pathways
Summary
Instruction leaders presented grading reforms to standardize category weights, set a 50% minimum recorded grade for assignments at middle school, remove subjective 'soft skills' from gradebooks, and expand dual-enrollment opportunities; trustees asked for alignment with possible state assessment changes.
Middletown school leaders on Sept. 19 detailed a districtwide shift toward standardized, equity-focused grading meant to make grades more transparent and to measure mastery instead of compliance.
Middle-school leaders described three principal changes: (1) common categories and weights across classrooms (learning tasks, assessment tasks, performance tasks); (2) a minimum recorded score of 50% for any assignment entered in the gradebook to prevent single low grades from derailing a marking period; and (3) removal of ‘‘soft skills’’ such as effort and participation from the gradebook, with those behaviors addressed through feedback, conferencing and goal-setting rather than numerical grades.
Presenters said the changes aim to reduce bias, clarify what a grade represents, and increase student motivation. The middle-school structure keeps four marking periods (each roughly 10 weeks) and counts each marking period toward a final grade; midterms and finals are included in cumulative calculations.
At the high school, leaders described universal categories and weights adjusted by content area, midterms/finals weighting, broader rubric use and a push to align grading with college partners for dual‑enrollment courses. Presenters listed current dual‑enrollment partners and said about 1,200 students have taken at least one college course through the district's partnerships. Trustees asked how the district is preparing for proposed state-level shifts in graduation and assessment approaches; administrators said they are monitoring state guidance and believe the district's focus on performance tasks and demonstrations of mastery positions students well for potential changes.
Board members asked detailed implementation questions (attendance weighting, how missing work is annotated in the gradebook, staff buy‑in and pilots). Presenters said pilots were run last year with teacher leaders and opt‑in teachers and that the staff pushed the recommendations forward. The board expressed support and asked for ongoing updates.
