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James A. Garfield Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

1276^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,558 Ohio Elementary Schools

Better than 18% of Ohio elementary schools

Summary

James A. Garfield Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 365 students in grades PK-5 in Marion, Ohio, which is part of the Marion City School District. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of Ohio elementary schools over the past 10 years, with several key challenges that set it apart from other schools in the district.

One of the most significant issues is the school's very high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 36.6% to 44.2% over the past few years - significantly higher than the state average and the rates of nearby schools in the Marion City district. This is likely a major contributor to the school's poor academic performance, with proficiency rates on Ohio state tests well below state and district averages across all grade levels and subjects. For example, in 2024-2025, only 28.9% of 5th graders were proficient or better in Science, compared to 30.3% for the Marion City district and 63.4% statewide.

While the Marion City district as a whole struggles, with all its elementary schools ranked in the bottom quarter of Ohio, there is a clear performance gap between James A. Garfield Elementary and some of the other schools in the district, such as Benjamin Harrison Elementary and Rutherford B. Hayes Elementary, which have significantly higher test scores and are ranked in the top half of Ohio elementary schools. Additionally, the school's lower per-student spending compared to other Marion City schools may be a contributing factor to its poor performance, suggesting the need for more equitable resource allocation across the district.

343

Students ?

13.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,103

Per pupil spending ?

81.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1170 Brookside Rd
Marion, OH 43302-5900

(740) 223-4444

District: Marion City

Students who attend James A. Garfield Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Ulysses S. Grant Middle School
High:	Harding High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

72.0%

Two or more races:

14.0%

Hispanic:

8.5%

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Compare James A. Garfield Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 20th percentile in 2015 → 18th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Ohio average (39% vs 64% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (18th percentile)

!Science scores 35 pts below the Ohio average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school39%

District avg41%

Ohio avg64%

1,276^th of 1,558

Ohio public elementary schools ?

Bottom 18%▼ down 2 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of Ohio Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 6Elementary Schools in the Marion City

636^th of 828Marion City among Ohio districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2025	18.8	1276 of 1558	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.2	1367 of 1577	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.8	1308 of 1596	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.9	1263 of 1588	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.8	1319 of 1610	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	10.3	1503 of 1676	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.3	1315 of 1636	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	17.7	1358 of 1651	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	19.5	1350 of 1678	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	24.2	1339 of 1684	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	28.9	1317 of 1687	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	27.1	1352 of 1701	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	33.4	1318 of 1709	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	43.1	1202 of 1686	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	38.3	1225 of 1662	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	18.5	1389 of 1610	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	18.2	1370 of 1582	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	14.1	1435 of 1609	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	14.4	1357 of 1504	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	21.8	1281 of 1501	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2022	23.4	678 of 824	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.4	946 of 1021	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2025	9.7	1316 of 1452	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.2	1364 of 1466	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.2	1314 of 1483	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.6	1228 of 1488	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.1	1222 of 1467	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	6.5	1410 of 1502	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	33.7	1111 of 1518	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2025	23.2	1184 of 1473	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.5	1281 of 1484	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.7	1163 of 1447	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.4	1096 of 1419	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.6	1145 of 1404	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.4	1306 of 1465	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.4	1143 of 1465	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2025	24.5	1131 of 1466	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.7	1272 of 1485	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.1	1237 of 1498	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.2	1253 of 1518	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	7.6	1356 of 1499	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.7	1350 of 1535	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	11.6	1365 of 1536	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2025	47.9	402 of 935	57.0%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2025	6.7	1117 of 1175	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	1.8	1167 of 1190	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	1.6	1197 of 1215	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	2.9	1199 of 1242	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	1.8	1220 of 1249	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	1.3	1253 of 1271	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	4.6	1269 of 1309	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Special Education (2025)57th percentile+39 vs school

Male (2025)23rd percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)20th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)18th percentile-3 vs school

Female (2025)9th percentile-9 vs school

White (2025)5th percentile-13 vs school

By subject vs Ohio (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts43%-20 vs state

Mathematics37%-26 vs state

Science29%-35 vs state

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What people are saying

by a parent
Monday, October 29, 2012

Greetings! My name is Jeff Street, I'm the PTA President at Garfield. I've had many conversations with the principle about how the 2 5th grade teachers talk and treat the students. They yell,scream,intimadate and humiliate the students. Up until the last couple weeks it was a rule at lunch to take a childs lunch and throw it away and make them stand with their nose against the wall . This would happen for something as simple as talking when told not to. I've had conversations with the superintendent about what is going on at Garfield and was told that he has never seen it their for it does not happen.It has come down to me reaching out to the parents and grouping together in order to try to make changes in this school.This is the worst school I have ever seen and Marion City Schools is a horrible district! Close Quote

Schools Near James A. Garfield Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Ohio State Tests Science (2025)	Ohio State Tests Mathematics (2025)				Ohio State Tests English Language Arts (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Ohio State Tests Science 5th Grade	Ohio State Tests Mathematics 3rd Grade	Ohio State Tests Mathematics 4th Grade	Ohio State Tests Mathematics 5th Grade	Ohio State Tests Mathematics 6th Grade	Ohio State Tests English Language Arts 3rd Grade	Ohio State Tests English Language Arts 4th Grade	Ohio State Tests English Language Arts 5th Grade	Ohio State Tests English Language Arts 6th Grade	Total
James A. Garfield Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1170 Brookside Rd	Marion	43302	Marion County	Marion City	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(740) 223-4444	343	26	13.1		247 (72.0%)	19 (5.5%)	29 (8.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (14.0%)	18.8	1276^th of 1558 public elementary schools	18.1%		12.2	1367^th of 1577 public elementary schools	13.3%	91	28.9	35.4	40.8	35.6		41.7	36.0	52.2		$11,103
William McKinley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	925 Chatfield Rd	Marion	43302	Marion County	Marion City	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(740) 223-4600	444	25	17.7		332 (74.8%)	18 (4.1%)	34 (7.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	60 (13.5%)	10.9	1390^th of 1558 public elementary schools	10.8%		10.8	1389^th of 1577 public elementary schools	11.9%	1	22.5	42.9	34.5	15.5		33.3	29.3	35.2		$11,330
Rutherford B. Hayes Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	750 Silver St	Marion	43302	Marion County	Marion City	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(740) 223-4950	230	18	12.7		178 (77.4%)	10 (4.3%)	15 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (11.7%)	32.9	1092^nd of 1558 public elementary schools	29.9%		20.5	1250^th of 1577 public elementary schools	20.7%	158	44.8	42.9	58.8	20.7		50.0	64.7	55.2		$12,109
Benjamin Harrison Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	625 Brightwood Dr	Marion	43302	Marion County	Marion City	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(740) 223-4999	361	21	17.1		245 (67.9%)	15 (4.2%)	37 (10.2%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (17.2%)	41.6	1004^th of 1558 public elementary schools	35.6%		40.9	1024^th of 1577 public elementary schools	35.1%	20	34.9	49.1	64.9	46.9		52.8	65.5	65.1		$12,965
Marion Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	1001 Mount Vernon Ave	Marion	43302	Marion County	Marion Preparatory Academy	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(740) 914-3050	151	14	10.5		102 (67.5%)	32 (21.2%)	2 (1.3%)	1 (0.7%)	3 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (7.3%)	12	1367^th of 1558 public elementary schools	12.3%		6.1	1490^th of 1577 public elementary schools	5.5%	123		41.7	18.2		6.7	41.7	0.0		33.3	$7,456
George Washington Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	400 Pennsylvania Ave	Marion	43302	Marion County	Marion City	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(740) 223-3883	452	28	16.1		309 (68.4%)	15 (3.3%)	42 (9.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	86 (19.0%)	21.5	1238^th of 1558 public elementary schools	20.5%		17.5	1287^th of 1577 public elementary schools	18.4%	49	37.8	47.3	36.5	32.4		48.0	25.0	54.1		$10,775
William H. Taft Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1000 Robinson St	Marion	43302	Marion County	Marion City	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(740) 223-4500	377	22	17.1		242 (64.2%)	33 (8.8%)	33 (8.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	68 (18.0%)	21.7	1235^th of 1558 public elementary schools	20.7%		15.4	1318^th of 1577 public elementary schools	16.4%	83	19.2	52.5	54.0	15.4		52.5	48.0	25.0		$12,928
Pleasant Elementary School	Public	K-4	1105 Owens Rd W	Marion	43302	Marion County	Pleasant Local	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(740) 389-4815	480	32	15.0	44.2%	422 (87.9%)	7 (1.5%)	26 (5.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.0%)	61.5	710^th of 1558 public elementary schools	54.4%		66	631^st of 1577 public elementary schools	60.0%	79		67.0	78.0			68.0	60.4			$11,639
Elgin Elementary School	Public	K-5	1250 Keener Rd S	Marion	43302	Marion County	Elgin Local	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(740) 223-4301	490	31	16.0	61.2%	449 (91.6%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.3%)	55.4	813^th of 1558 public elementary schools	47.8%		58.6	781^st of 1577 public elementary schools	50.5%	32	76.3	56.6	70.6	70.0		62.2	48.2	64.6		$11,938
Ridgedale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3105 Hillman Ford Rd	Morral	43337	Marion County	Ridgedale Local	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(740) 382-6065	306	21	14.4	61.4%	285 (93.1%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.9%)	49.3	904^th of 1558 public elementary schools	42.0%		47.4	955^th of 1577 public elementary schools	39.4%	51	70.5	58.3	73.8	40.9		58.3	52.4	63.6		$14,114

Frequently Asked Questions about James A. Garfield Elementary School

What schools do graduates of James A. Garfield Elementary School attend?

Students who attend James A. Garfield Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Ulysses S. Grant Middle School
High : Harding High School

How many students attend James A. Garfield Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 343 students attended James A. Garfield Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of James A. Garfield Elementary School?

Students at James A. Garfield Elementary School are 72% White, 14% Two or more races, 8% Hispanic, 6% African American.

Is James A. Garfield Elementary School a good school?

James A. Garfield Elementary School ranks in the bottom 18.1% of Ohio elementary schools.

What district is James A. Garfield Elementary School in?

Marion City

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Ohio Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.