Graduation Requirements

What you need to earn an Ontario Secondary School Diploma depends on the year you started Grade 9. Everyone needs 40 hours of Community Service (volunteering), 2 online learning credits, and the completion of the literacy graduation requirement to get their high school diploma.

If you started Grade 9 in 2023 or in prior years, you must earn:

If you started Grade 9 in 2024 or in later years you must earn:

Check out the information below for more specific information of graduation requirements depending on when your students started Grade 9.

If you started Grade 9 in or before Fall 2023 students must earn the following compulsory credits to obtain the Ontario Secondary School Diploma:

4 credits in English
3 credits in Mathematics
2 credits in Science
1 credit in Canadian History
1 credit in Canadian Geography
1 credit in the Arts
1 credit in Health and Physical Education
1 credit in French as a Second Language
0.5 credit in Career Studies
0.5 credit in Civics

 

Students must also choose one credit each from the following groups:

1 English or French as a second language, a Native language, a classical or an international language, social sciences and the humanities, Canadian and world studies, guidance and career education cooperative education
1 health and physical education, the arts, business studies, French as a second language, cooperative education
1 health and physical education, the arts, business studies, French as a second language, cooperative education

 

In addition to compulsory credits, students must complete:

12 optional credits
40 hours of community involvement activities
Literacy requirement (Grade 10 Literacy Test OR OLC Course - 1 credit)

 

If you started Grade 9 in 2024 or in later years, you need the following to get your OSSD.

Compulsory credits

 You need the following 17 compulsory credits to get your OSSD:

  • 4 credits in English (1 credit per grade)
  • 3 credits in mathematics (Grade 9, Grade 10 and 1 credit in Grade 11 or 12)
  • 2 credits in science
  • 1 credit in technological education (Grade 9 or Grade 10)
  • 1 credit in Canadian history (Grade 10)
  • 1 credit in Canadian geography (Grade 9)
  • 1 credit in the arts
  • 1 credit in health and physical education
  • 1 credit in French as a second language
  • 0.5 credit in career studies
  • 0.5 credit in civics and citizenship
  • 1 credit from the STEM-related course group

The following apply to compulsory credit selections.

Of the 17 compulsory credits, you must complete 1 from the following group:

  • business studies
  • computer studies
  • cooperative education
  • mathematics (in addition to the 3 compulsory credits currently required)
  • science (in addition to the 2 compulsory credits currently required)
  • technological education (in addition to the 1 compulsory credit required)

Optional credits

You must earn 13 optional credits by successfully completing courses from your school’s program and course calendar.

Literacy Requirement:

In Grade 10, students take the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT), which measures whether or not they are meeting the minimum standard for literacy across all subjects up to the end of Grade 9.

If students don't succeed the first time the test is written, they will have another opportunity. Schools also have the option of offering students a course in place of the test. For more information about provincial testing, visit EQAO

FINALLY,

ONLINE LEARNING GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

Students are required to earn two online learning credits to graduate from secondary school. The graduation requirement is intended to support students in developing familiarity and comfort with learning and working in a fully online environment, as well as developing digital literacy and other important transferable skills that they will need for success after secondary school, including in post-secondary education and the workplace.

Opting out

Parents/guardians may choose to opt their children out of the mandatory online learning credits required for graduation. To opt out, a parent/guardian must submit the Secondary Online Learning Graduation Requirement Opt-out Form. Exemption from the online learning graduation requirements may be requested by:

  • the parent/guardian of the secondary student
  • students who are 18 years of age or older
  • students who are 16 or 17 years of age and have withdrawn from parental control