Grades in Middle School

Though far from an expert in this area, I would imagine that very few if any colleges and/or universities have ever looked at a middle school student's transcripts. Is it important for middle school students to be prepared by their teachers for high school? Of course it is, but the job of a middle school teacher goes so far beyond assigning numerical grades in language arts, social studies, math, and science. We have students come to our classrooms on a daily basis with home lives most of us could not begin to imagine. Even in my relatively short teaching career I've had students enter my room that have been sexually abused, have drug and alcohol addicted parent(s), that only eat during the school day because there is no food in their homes, have criminal records and charges pending. Additionally, I have and am teaching students that have wide ranges of physical and mental health issues, students whose parents are going through divorces and the list goes on. These same students are also dealing with the angst of coping with all the issues that go along with adolescence. Having said all that there is nothing more unnerving to me than seeing teachers forget these things when dealing with their students. Perhaps as middle school teachers we should spend more time focusing on teaching our students about respect, honesty, the power of positivity and laughter, the value of being a well rounded trustworthy person. So how do you assign grades to those students? Do they earn an A if they can accurately compare and contrast the protagonist and antagonist of a classic novel? Sure, but in my opinion these students should also be graded on positive personal growth throughout the school year. Let's all do more to nurture the whole student, and not just prepare them for a government issued end of grade test that essentially defines their worth in the school setting.