Page 58 - Ontario Schools: Kindergarten to Grade 12

While the school board and principal may recommend that students take certain courses in addition to the required subjects, they may not identify additional sub- jects or courses as compulsory requirements towards the earning of the Ontario Secondary School Diploma.
See also section 6.2, “Substitutions for Compulsory Credit Requirements” and section 7.3.1, “Locally Developed Courses”.
6.1.2 Optional Credits (total of 12)
In addition to the 18 compulsory credits, students must earn 12 optional credits. Students earn these credits by successfully completing courses that they have selected from the courses listed as available in their school’s program and course calendar.
6.1.3 The Secondary School Literacy Graduation Requirement
All students are required to meet the secondary school literacy graduation requirement in order to earn an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). The requirement is based on the expectations for reading and writing throughout the Ontario curriculum up to and including Grade 9. The purpose of the second- ary school literacy graduation requirement is to determine whether students have the skills in reading and writing that they will need to succeed in school, at work, and in daily life.
To meet this requirement, students are expected to take and successfully complete the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) in Grade 10 in accordance with the policies outlined in section 6.1.3.1. Once students have successfully completed the OSSLT, they may not retake it.
Students who do not successfully complete the OSSLT will have additional oppor- tunities to meet the literacy graduation requirement in accordance with the poli- cies pertaining to the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (see section 6.1.3.1), the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC) (see section 6.1.3.2), or the adjudication process (see section 6.1.3.3).
Mature students7 have the option to enrol directly in the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course without first attempting the OSSLT. They may still elect to meet the literacy graduation requirement by successfully completing the OSSLT.
7. A mature student is a student who is at least eighteen years of age on or before December 31
of the school year in which he or she registers in an Ontario secondary school program; who was not enrolled as a regular day school student for a period of at least one school year immediately preceding his or her registration in a secondary school program (for mature students, a school year is a period of no less than ten consecutive months immediately preceding the student’s return to school); and who is enrolled in a secondary program for the purpose of obtaining an OSSD.
56 OntariO SchOOlS, Kindergarten tO grade 12