An Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) will be granted to a student who earns a minimum of 30 credits of 110 hours each.
18 Compulsory Credits
Students must earn the following compulsory credits to obtain the Ontario Secondary School Diploma:
4 credits in English (1 credit per grade)
3 credits in mathematics (at least 1 credit in Grade 11 or 12)
2 credits in science
1 credit in Canadian history
1 credit in Canadian geography
1 credit in the arts (music, art, drama)
1 credit in health and physical education
1 credit in French as a second language
½ credit in civics and ½ credit in career studies
Plus one credit from each of the following groups:
1 additional credit in English, or French as a second language, or a Native language, or a classical or an international language, or social sciences and the humanities, or Canadian and world studies, or guidance and career education, or cooperative education
1 additional credit in health and physical education, or the arts, or business studies, or French as a second language, or cooperative education
1 additional credit in science (11 or 12), or technological education, or French as a second language, or computer studies, or cooperative education
In addition to the compulsory credits, students must complete:
12 Optional Credits
40 hours of community involvement activities
The provincial literacy requirement
An Ontario Secondary School Certificate (OSSC) will be granted to a student who earns a minimum of 14 credits of 110 hours each
7 Compulsory Credits
2 credits in English
1 credit in Mathematics
1 credit in Science
1 credit in Arts or Grade 9 to 12 Technology
1 credit in Canadian History or Canadian Geography
1 credit in Physical and Health Education
7 Optional Credits
In addition to the 7 compulsory credits, students have to earn 7 optional credits in courses of their choice, selected from the full list of courses available in the school. Optional credits allow students to build an educational program that suits their individual interests and meets apprenticeship or work requirements.
A Certificate of Accomplishment (COA) may be granted to a student who leaves school before fulfilling the requirements for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma or the Ontario Secondary School Certificate.
The Certificate of Accomplishment is a way of recognising the accomplishments of students who plan to take other kinds of further training or who plan to find employment after school. An Ontario Student Transcript will be attached to indicate what credits have been earned. A Certificate of Accomplishment will only be issued once.
Substitutions for compulsory credits
In order to allow flexibility in designing a student’s program and to ensure that all students can qualify for the Secondary School Diploma, substitutions may be made for a limited number of compulsory credits. These courses must be selected from course offerings that meet the requirements for compulsory credits. To meet individual students’ needs, the principal may replace up to three of these courses (or the equivalent in half courses) with courses that meet the compulsory credit requirements. Each substitution will be noted on the student’s Ontario Student Transcript.
Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)
Students may receive credit without taking a course if they have demonstrated that they have the skills and knowledge from prior learning to meet the expectations for the course set out in the curriculum. To receive a credit through the PLAR process, students are assessed through a formal test, along with other methods of evaluation appropriate for the subject area.
Students may obtain a maximum of four (4) credits through the PLAR process, but not more than two (2) in one subject area. PLAR applies only to courses in Grade 10 to 12.
IMPORTANT REMINDER
ALL attempts at a course in Grade Eleven and Twelve will appear on the student transcript INCLUDING courses from which the student has withdrawn after five instructional days from the mid-term report.
Forty hours of documented community involvement is a requirement of graduation.
Passing the Ontario secondary school literacy test (OSSLT) or the Ontario literacy course is a requirement of graduation.
The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
All students beginning Grade 9 in the 2001-2002 school year and in subsequent years must pass the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test given in Grade 10 in order to earn a Secondary School Diploma or they must pass the grade 12 Ontario Literacy Course. This test, designed by the Ontario Education Quality and Accountability Office evaluates students’ reading and writing skills based on curriculum expectations in language and communications up to and including Grade 9.
Accommodations may be made for students with an IEP and in accordance with EQAO policies. Students whose Individual Education Plan indicates that the student is not working towards a Secondary School Diploma may, with parental/guardian consent and the approval of the principal, be exempt from writing the test. Students who might benefit from a deferral of the test may include students who have been identified as exceptional and students registered in English as a Second Language courses and students who were not successful in achieving the reading and writing skills appropriate to Grade 9. A parent/guardian may request such a deferral. As well, the principal in consultation with the parent/guardian may initiate a deferral.
Community Involvement Activities
As part of the diploma requirements, students must complete a minimum of 40 hours of community involvement activities during their years in the secondary school program. Students, in collaboration with their parents/guardians, will decide how they will complete the community involvement requirement.
Community Involvement activities may take place in a variety of settings (e.g. Not-for-profit organizations, hospitals, informal settings, etc.). Students may not fulfil the requirement through activities that are counted towards a credit (e.g. Co-operative education and work experience), through paid work, or by assuming duties normally performed by a paid employee.
The requirement is to be completed outside students’ normal instructional hours - that is, the activities are to take place in students’ designated lunch hours, after school, on weekends, or during school holidays. Please note that the “Notification of Planned Community Involvement” form must be brought to the principal for approval BEFORE the student starts an activity that does not fit in with the activities approved by the board.
The principal will decide whether the student has met the requirements of both the ministry and the Board for these activities.