Marine Corps Duty Performance and Conduct Marks

The Basics
No matter your rank, you are subject to being evaluated by your chain of command. This evaluation process begins the day you check in, and can make or break your career and promotion opportunities.

Your Duty Performance and Conduct is rated on a scale from 0 to 5, 0 being Unsatisfactory and 5 being Outstanding. Average Duty Performance and Average Conduct Marks together can be worth up to 1000 points of the composite score system used in the Cpl and Sgt. promotion systems.


Marine Corps Order MCO P1070.12K (chg 1) pages 4-39 through 4-43 explians the Conduct and Duty Performance evaluation system in detail.

5 Steps to Improving Your Marks:
SCORE Although it is nearly impossible to get straight 5s on your duty performance and conduct marks, there are 5 steps you can take that are virtually guaranteed to improve your marks.

Step 1. Start out by reading MCO P1070.12 Section 4005. Understanding how the process works is key to making it work for you. Pay particular attention to the appropriate evaluation form for your rank.

Step 2. Communicate. Talk with your supervisor about your performance report. You should go over the form line by line to determine their expectations. Ask your supervisor for their advice on how to improve your marks and get the highest score possible.

Step 3. Be Opportunistic. Take every opportunity you can to demonstrate the level of performance that your supervisor suggested. Be sure to take the initiative and show that you're committed to performing at the highest level.

Step 4. Record your personal performance. Keep a performance diary, noting the times and situations when you demonstrated the skills, initiative, leadership, and performance your supervisor suggested.

Step 5. Evaluate yourself. Provide your supervisor with your documentation and support information that will help convince them that you are worthy of the highest marks possible. After all it is your career, and you are the only one who knows exactly what you have accomplished during the evaluation period. Submit your Fitness Report and documentation to your supervisor.

Your supervisor has a rough job -- he or she has to monitor you and your coworkers' performance throughout the entire evaluation period. It is nearly impossible for a supervisor to remember every detail about your performance. In fact, supervisors tend to remember negative situations more often than the positive ones. By following these 5 steps you will make your supervisors job easier, and when you make their job easier it can't help but to increase your marks.