Summary:
The Marion City district serves eight schools — six elementary, one middle, and one high school — with about 4,040 students in total. The district is ranked 650 of 773 Ohio districts, placing it in the 16th percentile with 1 star, so most schools here reflect a district-wide struggle rather than isolated problems. School sizes vary widely, from 230 students at Rutherford B. Hayes Elementary School to 917 at Ulysses S. Grant Middle School.
Benjamin Harrison Elementary School is the clearest bright spot: it is the only 2-star school in the group, ranking in the 31st percentile, and it has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 22.2%. It scored above the district in every tested elementary subject in 2025–26, though its 4th grade results slipped from the prior year. Rutherford B. Hayes Elementary School is close behind with 22.8% absenteeism and strong 5th grade scores — its math mark of 58.8 essentially matches the state's 59.1.
The biggest concerns are at the secondary level. Ulysses S. Grant Middle School has the highest absenteeism in the group (43.5%) and very low 7th grade math (5.9), even though its Algebra I score of 91.1 far exceeds the state. Harding High School posts a solid 91.3% graduation rate but 42.4% absenteeism and low Geometry (28.5) and Algebra I (43.0) scores. Spending and class size do not explain results: Harding spends the most ($9,429) yet ranks low, while James A. Garfield Elementary School spends the least ($7,667) and has improved. William McKinley Elementary School, William H. Taft Elementary School, and Garfield all posted modest gains in rank percentile over two years.
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