How does the Grading System work?

It’s really important to understand the grading system right from the start📌. Once your child reaches high school, their average grades will have a direct impact on their future career plans and admission to post-secondary education, whether that’s college, university, or a skilled trade program.

In Junior Kindergarten (JK) and Senior Kindergarten (SK), teachers use an observation-based system to report how your child is developing key age-appropriate skills. These reports focus more on personal, social, and academic growth rather than traditional letter or number grades.

At the end of SK, many schools hold a symbolic graduation ceremony to celebrate your child’s transition from Kindergarten to the “graded” school years🎓. What special day for them! 😄 Around here, we lovingly call kids in JK and SK our little “Kindies.”

Grading in Elementary

From Grade 1 to Grade 6, your child will receive two report cards: one in February and one in June. These reports use letter grades to measure performance:

• A- to A+: this is when the student exceeds the provincial standards.
• B- to B+: this is when the student meets the provincial standards.
• C- to C+: this is when the student approaches the provincial standards.
• D- to D+: this is when the student falls below the provincial standards.
• R: this is when the student requires help.
• I: this is when the student could not be assessed.

Grading in Middle and High School

From Grade 7 to Grade 12, students also receive two report cards: one in February and one in June. At this stage, grades are measured in numbers, based on a percentage scale.

• 80-100: this is when the student exceeds the province’s standards.
• 70-79: this is when the student meets the province’s standards.
• 60-69: this is when the student is approaching the province’s standards.
• 50-59: this is when the student falls below the province’s standards.
• R: this is when the student requires help.
• I: this is when the student could not be assessed.

At the end of Grade 8, schools hold a graduation ceremony to mark the transition to high school🎓. Then, at the end of Grade 12, students celebrate their official graduation from high school🎓.

📌One detail I’ve always found especially valuable is the comments section on report cards. Teachers use this section to highlight your child’s strengths and point out areas that need improvement. These comments are often auto-generated, but they still offer helpful insights into how your child is doing in each subject📝.

Another very important point: in elementary school, students don’t write formal exams, and they don’t fail a grade or course. However, schools still conduct regular evaluations to assess how well students are meeting learning goals.

So, what are those learning goals based on? Each province publishes its own curriculum along with clear expectations by grade and subject. If you’re in Ontario, you can visit the Curriculum and Resources website to learn more: Curriculum and Resources

In Ontario, we also have the EQAO (Education Quality and Accountability Office). This organization manages standardized assessments at different stages of a student’s education:

• Grade 3: Reading, Writing & Math
• Grade 6: Reading, Writing & Math
• Grade 9: Math
• Grade 10: OSSLT (Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test)

These assessments help track student achievement across the province and ensure schools meet expected standards. To learn more, visit https://www.eqao.com/

📌Don’t forget to keep your children’s report cards! You may need them later as proof of residency in Canada, for example, when applying for their first driver’s license or other official documents.

For more detailed information about elementary schools in Ontario, I recommend visiting Settlement.org. You can also check out their helpful guide: Elementary.pdf.

If you want to learn more about how the education system works in Canada, I invite you to keep reading my blog and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss any of my new posts!.

Good luck and may God bless you!💗

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📸Photo by Pexels – Andy Barbour