The Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) is given to graduates of secondary schools in Ontario, Canada, as part of the publicly funded education system. It's provided to students who successfully finish the Ontario education curriculum, which encompasses Special Education, TOPS program, MaCS program, IB Program, and various specialized secondary school programs.
In order to earn an OSSD, a student must:
A. Total 30 Credits
Earn a minimum of 30 credits, including 18 compulsory credits
and 12 optional credits.
B. Volunteering Hours
Students must also complete 40 hours of community involvement activities.
C. OSSLT/ OSSLC
Students must meet the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Requirement.
D. Online Courses
As a prerequisite, students will be required to earn two credits online.
Theese are how compulsary credits are formed
Compulsory Courses
Elective Courses
In Total
- Students, in collaboration with their parents, will decide how they will complete the community involvement requirement.
- These activities may be completed at any time during their years in the secondary school program (i.e., beginning in the summer before they enter grade 9)
- Students can engage in community involvement activities in diverse settings, excluding credited activities, paid work, or roles mimicking paid employment.
- Students must fulfill the requirement outside regular school hours—during lunch breaks, after school, weekends, or holidays.
- Students need to provide documentation for each completed activity to the principal. Documentation should include the recipient of service (individual or organization), activity specifics, dates and hours, student and parent signatures, along with a signed acknowledgment from the respective person or representative of the organization.
- The principal will decide whether the student has met the requirements of the ministry for these activities.
- Upon successful completion of the 40 hours of Community Involvement and the approval of the principal, students will have their accomplishment acknowledged and noted on their Ontario Student Transcript (OST)
What is OSSLT ?
The test is prepared and evaluated by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) and will be based on the Ontario curriculum expectations for language and communication – particularly reading and writing – up to and including Grade 9. The test will serve both to determine whether students have acquired the reading and writing skills considered essential for literacy, and to provide confirmation that those students who have completed the test successfully have attained the provincial expectations for literacy.
The test will identify those students who have not demonstrated the required skills and will identify areas in which these students need remediation.
Remedial assistance will be provided for students who do not complete the test successfully. This assistance will be designed to help students improve their skills so that they are better prepared to retake the literacy test.
As of November 2019, a new initiative was introduced stating that, commencing with the Grade 9 group in the 2020-21 academic year, students must attain two credits through online courses to meet the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) graduation criteria. Although online course completion is obligatory for graduation, exceptions may be granted to individual students. TSCHS provides a wide range of course options, and you can choose any two that interest you.
