Ontario students went back to class this week under a set of provincewide rules that did not apply last year. The Ministry of Education set them out in a release on Tuesday.
Secondary students across the province are now graded on the same split. Classroom work counts for 65 per cent of a final grade. The final evaluation counts for 20 per cent in Grades 9 and 10 and 25 per cent in Grades 11 and 12, and written final exams return in most courses.
Attendance and participation now carry weight of their own — 15 per cent of the final grade in Grades 9 and 10, and 10 per cent in Grades 11 and 12. The ministry says students are not penalised for excused absences.
The other changes families will notice: a new Grade 10 financial literacy requirement, updated Kindergarten and history curriculum, paper report cards for elementary students, and a Student and Family Support Office at every school board — somewhere to take a concern that cannot be settled at the school.
For the first time, eligible elementary homeroom teachers have direct access to $750 a year to buy classroom supplies, on top of what boards already receive. The purchasing runs through a portal operated by Staples Canada, which won a competitive procurement led by Supply Ontario. The portal carries 220 core products picked from feedback from more than 23,000 Ontario teachers, and the ministry says Staples has set up a dedicated line to match any price a teacher finds lower elsewhere.
“Our focus is clear: putting student achievement first and ensuring every student has the opportunity to succeed,” Education Minister Paul Calandra said in the release. “We are making record investments in education, and we expect those investments to deliver better results for students.”
The province is putting $30.6 billion into Core Education Funding for the 2026-27 school year. Thirty-five new and expanded schools open this fall, adding more than 18,300 student spaces and 1,130 licensed child care spaces through an investment of more than $1 billion — part of a nearly $30-billion, ten-year plan to build, expand and renew schools.
An Advisory Body on Student Achievement and Assessment is separately reviewing how students are assessed across the province, including reading, writing and math.
Source: Ontario Newsroom, “Ontario Putting Student Achievement First as Students Return to School”, September 8, 2026.
