High School Requirements

To earn their Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), high school students must complete a total of 30 credits (including 18 compulsory credits), pass the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) and do 40 hours of community service activities.

A credit is earned upon the successful completion of a course that includes 110 hours of instruction. The course must contain class materials and assessments (including assignments, exams, etc.) that meet the curriculum expectations of the Ontario Ministry of Education.

For information about required courses, please refer to the chart below. Please note that out-of-province and international students, as well as homeschoolers, might be eligible for prerequisite waivers and/or equivalency credit assessments.

 

Community Service Hours

Ontario students are required to complete 40 hours of community service in order to earn their OSSD. Students who are planning to earn their OSSD through Matrix Academy will be given a form to record their hours. This form is called the Student Community Involvement Activity Notification and Completion Form. In addition, we will be happy to provide more information about eligible activities.

 Literacy Requirements

To graduate with an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), students must meet the literacy graduation requirement. This can be completed either by successfully passing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) or, when eligible, by completing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OLC4O). The OSSLT assesses students’ essential English literacy skills, including reading, writing, and basic grammar, while OLC4O is designed to help students further develop and demonstrate these skills. According to the Ministry of Education requirements, students residing in Ontario are expected to attempt the OSSLT first. If they are unsuccessful, they may then be eligible to take OLC4O. Only students residing outside Ontario may take OLC4O without first attempting the OSSLT.

 Online Learning Graduation Requirements

Recently, the Ontario Ministry of Education introduced a new online learning graduation requirement. It requires students to complete at least two asynchronous courses to earn their OSSD.

Matrix Academy has opted out of providing online learning graduation requirements. However, if students would like to take asynchronous courses they can do so through our partner school, ILC TVO.

Financial Literacy Graduation Requirements

Students who started high school in Fall 2025 or later are required to complete the Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement as part of the compulsory Grade 10 Career Studies course. This requirement is designed to help students build practical money-management skills, including budgeting, saving, understanding credit and debt, taxes, interest rates, consumer awareness, and financial fraud prevention. Students will need to demonstrate their understanding of these key concepts in order to meet this graduation requirement and earn the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).