Ontario Secondary School Diploma Requirements

Students must earn the following 18 compulsory credits to obtain the Ontario School Diploma:

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 cooperative education^**

• 1 additional credit in science, or technological education, or cooperative education^**
  
  

Optional Credits (total of 12)

In addition to the 18 compulsory credits, students must earn 12 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 university, college, apprenticeship, or work requirements.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)

Students may receive a credit without taking a course if they can demonstrate that they have the skills and knowledge from prior learning to meet the expectations for the course set out in the provincial curriculum. To receive a credit through the PLAR process, students are assessed through a formal test, along with other methods of evaluation appropriate to the subject.

Students may obtain a maximum of four credits through the PLAR process, but no more than two in one subject area. The PLAR process applies only to courses in Grades 10–12.

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

Students will take the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test in Grade 10. Students must pass the test in order to graduate, and their result is recorded on their student transcript. Students who do not complete the test successfully will receive remedial help to prepare them for retesting. The literacy test requirement is in addition to the 30 credits needed for a high school diploma. Students who are unsuccessful on the test may also complete the Ontario Literacy Course (OLC4O) as part of their Grade 11 or 12 program. This is a credit program.

The literacy test evaluates students’ reading and writing skills based on curriculum expectations in language and communications up to and including Grade 9. ESL students will take the test only when they have reached this level in their language studies. Accommodations will be made for students in special education programs.

Community Involvement Activities

All students must complete a minimum of 40 hours of unpaid community involvement activities before graduating from high school. This requirement is in addition to the 30 credits needed for a high school diploma. Students will be able to choose their own community involvement activities, within guidelines that are provided by the Toronto District School Board. Students will be responsible for fulfilling this requirement on their own time, and for keeping a record of their activities on a form supplied by the school.

^*A maximum of 3 credits in English as a second language (ESL) or English literacy development (ELD) may be counted towards the 4 compulsory credits in English, but the fourth must be a credit for a Grade 12 compulsory English course. ^**A maximum of 2 credits in cooperative education can count as compulsory credits.