Parents/guardians should feel free to contact the school at any time if they have a concern about their child's academic progress. Appointments to meet with individual teachers or teams can be made through your child's school counselor.

Marion City Schools has a standard grading procedure as well as additional notations that may indicate work in progress or incomplete work. Grades indicate the extent to which the student has acquired the necessary learning. In general, students may be assigned grades based upon test results, homework, projects, and classroom participation. Each teacher may place a different emphasis on these areas when determining a grade and will so inform the students at the beginning of the course. If a student is not sure how his/her grade will be determined, he/she should ask the teachers.

Grades indicating student progress are given four times each year. A report card is sent home with the student at the end of each grading period. Families may always check online for more timely updates. Conference days are available during specific and scheduled times of the year. Parents/Guardians are encouraged to attend the conferences to talk about their child's progress. Find our MCS Standards-Based Grading Family Guide here.

Why are we shifting to standards-based reporting?

Marion City School Elementary Families will begin receiving more personalized and specific student report cards about their child’s progress. These reports will shift from a traditional A-F letter grade that summarizes student learning, which often includes non-academic components such as participation and behavior, to a standards-based report. This report will provide a deeper, more detailed understanding of each student’s performance in each academic area they are learning, as well as specific information about performance in areas such as behavior and participation. The standards-based reports will allow families and students to receive clear communication regarding what a student knows and is able to do and will allow for improved communication and more personalized support for each student and their family.

What are standards?

Learning standards are statements that outline what students should know and be able to do in each grade level and content area. Marion City Schools follows Ohio’s Learning Standards. For more information, you can view the Ohio Department of Education’s website.

How will the report card differ from our previous report card?

The updated report cards will look different than traditional report cards have. The traditional letter grades of A-F will be replaced with letters of M, EP, and LP based on a student’s progression of learning on multiple standards within each subject area. These levels clearly define what students know and are able to do in terms of their grade level standard. These proficiency scales will reflect the content taught specifically by your child’s classroom teacher.

Teachers should collect evidence of learning through various methods of assessment. This includes but is not limited to discussions, shared reading, writing samples, formative and summative assessments, projects and worksheets. Teachers will review all of the evidence to determine where a student scores with the standards. Teacher discretion is used in determining appropriate amounts of evidence to support the student score.

Marion City Schools will still be using PowerSchool for reporting scores for students. Students and families will continue to receive report cards at the end of each quarter.

The only standards that will appear on the report card will be those priority standards that are taught during that quarter.

No. A standards-based classroom uses standards as the criteria for determining student performance scores. The teacher evaluates the students based on the proficiency scale created for the standard and not against the performance of other students. Students will work at their own pace towards mastering the standards.

To provide access to the curriculum, students in grades 3-5 who receive services in a specialized learning classroom may access the grade level standards by using the Ohio Learning Standards Extended (OLS-E) and the OLS-E learning progressions. OLS-E also are commonly known as "the extended standards." These standards help to ensure that students with significant cognitive disabilities are provided with multiple ways to learn and demonstrate knowledge. At the same time, the extended standards are designed to maintain the rigor and high expectations of Ohio’s Learning Standards. A learning progression is a sequence of skills linked to a learning target that builds base skills and engagement as learner’s make progress toward mastery of the standard or learning target. Grades K-2 also have learning progressions for each grade level standard. We encourage all families to focus on the growth of your child and the progress reported on their individualized education program’s (IEP) goals and objectives. Progress reports will continue to be provided to parents/guardians of a child with a disability at least as often as report cards are issued to all children.

Please contact your classroom teacher or building principal.

You can also contact the District Office: Teaching & Learning Department (740) 223-4380