Understanding Ontario Report Cards: A 2026-2027 Guide for Parents

Updated September 2026 for the 2026-2027 school year. Your child's Ontario report card packs a lot into a few pages: grades, learning skills, small checkboxes and, in high school, a new way of building final marks. This guide walks you through every part, from Kindergarten to the Grade 12 graduation page, so you know what you are reading and what to ask next.

When Report Cards Come Home in 2026-2027

Every publicly funded school in Ontario uses the same provincial templates. The ministry sets the reporting windows, and your school board sets the exact dates within them.

• Kindergarten: three Communications of Learning. The Initial Observations report arrives between late October and November, followed by two more reports during the year.
• Grades 1 to 8: the fall progress report between October 20 and November 20, the first provincial report card between January 20 and February 20, and the second provincial report card at the end of the year, in June.
• Grades 9 to 12 in semestered schools: two report cards per semester, a first report partway through and a final report at the end.
• Grades 9 to 12 in non-semestered schools: three report cards a year, with the first one issued in the fall.

Paper Report Cards Are Back

Starting in June 2026, school boards must hand out paper report cards. From Kindergarten to Grade 8, end-of-term report cards go home with your child through the homeroom teacher, and any that are not collected are mailed home. Online versions stay available wherever your board already offers them, and boards may also choose to print the fall progress report. High schools can keep their current approach, but they must give you a paper copy if you ask for one.

Kindergarten: The Communication of Learning

Kindergarten has no grades. Instead, educators write a Communication of Learning, which the ministry calls "like a report card for your kindergarten child." From 2026-2027, it is based on the new Ontario Curriculum, Kindergarten, 2026, which replaces The Kindergarten Program, 2016.

The Initial Observations report, in late October or November, describes your child's learning since September. The two later reports come in winter, usually between January 20 and February 20, and near the end of June. They are organized into four strands:

• Foundations of Language and Mathematics
• Problem Solving and Innovating
• Self-Regulation and Well-Being
• Belonging and Contributing

Catholic schools add a section on Religious and Family Life Education. In each strand, educators describe your child's key learning, growth in learning and next steps, with examples from class. A checked ESL or IEP box beside a strand means the expectations have been modified for your child.

One new line to look for: the updated 2026 template has an Early Reading Screening section for Year 2 of Kindergarten. It shows whether the screening was completed and whether your child met the benchmark. If the benchmark was not met, ask the educators what support is planned at school and what you can do at home.

Grades 1 to 8: The Fall Progress Report

The fall progress report comes early on purpose. It gives no grades. For each subject, the teacher says whether your child is progressing very well, well or with difficulty, rates the six learning skills and adds comments on strengths and next steps.

Treat "with difficulty" as an early signal, not a verdict. The months before the first graded report card are the right time to ask the teacher what is getting in the way.

For a closer look at each rating, see what Ontario's fall progress report checklist actually means.

Grades 1 to 8: Letter Grades, Percentages and the Four Levels

Grades 1 to 6 use letter grades, and Grades 7 and 8 use percentage marks. Both are tied to the same four levels of achievement, and level 3 is the provincial standard.

• Level 4: A+, A or A-, or 80 to 100%. Your child is working above the provincial standard.
• Level 3: B+, B or B-, or 70 to 79%. Your child is meeting the provincial standard for their grade.
• Level 2: C+, C or C-, or 60 to 69%. Your child is approaching the standard.
• Level 1: D+, D or D-, or 50 to 59%. Your child is much below the standard.

A B is not a warning sign. It means your child is on track. Language and math each get one overall grade, and the teacher's comments explain the strands behind it.

Two codes are worth knowing:

• R means achievement is below level 1 and your child has not yet met the required knowledge and skills. In Grades 7 and 8, R is used for anything below 50%. Ask the teacher for a meeting and a plan.
• I means the teacher did not have enough evidence to give a grade, for example because your child recently changed schools or missed a long stretch through illness. It can be used from Grade 1 to Grade 10.

The Six Learning Skills and Work Habits

Every report card from Grade 1 to Grade 12 rates six learning skills, separately from the grades:

• Responsibility: meeting commitments, handing in work on time and managing behaviour.
• Organization: making a plan, setting priorities and managing time.
• Independent work: using class time well and following instructions without close supervision.
• Collaboration: sharing the work in a group and getting along with others.
• Initiative: curiosity, new ideas and a willingness to take risks.
• Self-regulation: setting goals, asking for help and persevering when work gets hard.

Each skill is rated E (Excellent), G (Good), S (Satisfactory) or N (Needs Improvement). This section often explains the grades. A B in math with an N in organization can mean unfinished work, not weak understanding. Late or missed assignments can show up here in any grade, and from Grade 7 teachers may also deduct marks for late work.

IEP and ESL/ELD Boxes: What a Checkmark Means

Beside each subject or course are small boxes marked IEP and ESL/ELD. A checkmark changes what the grade is measuring.

The IEP Box

An Individual Education Plan (IEP) says whether your child needs accommodations only, modified expectations or an alternative program. Each one shows up differently:

• Accommodations only, such as extra time, a quieter space or assistive technology: the IEP box is not checked, and the grade is measured against the regular grade-level expectations.
• Modified expectations: the IEP box is checked, and the grade is based on the expectations in the IEP, which may come from a different grade or be fewer, more or less complex. On the elementary report card, the comments must say so.
• Alternative expectations, such as social skills or speech programs: usually reported through comments rather than a grade.

In high school, the IEP box is checked for every course where modified expectations apply. If they are modified so much that the principal decides no credit can be granted, the comments will say so and the credit column shows 0.

The ESL/ELD Box

This box is checked only when the curriculum expectations have been modified to support your child's English language learning. It is not checked just because your child is in an ESL or ELD program, or gets accommodations like extra time or a bilingual dictionary. A child can have both the ESL/ELD and IEP boxes checked.

If either box is checked, ask which expectations were changed and what grade level they come from. A B on modified expectations tells a different story from a B on the regular Grade 5 expectations.

High School Report Cards, Grades 9 to 12

Each course line shows a percentage mark, the course median, the credit earned, classes missed and times late, plus the six learning skills. A credit is granted at 50% or higher. Below 50%, teachers record the actual percentage rather than an R. You may also see I (insufficient evidence, Grades 9 and 10 only, and it means no credit for that course) or W (withdrawn from the course).

The course median is the middle mark in the class. A 72% where the median is 85% reads very differently from a 72% where it is 68%.

If your child has just started high school, what Grade 9 is really like in Ontario covers the other changes that come with the first year.

New for 2026-2027: How Final Marks Are Built

From September 2026, Ontario replaced the old split of 70% term work and 30% final evaluation with a fixed structure for most courses:

• Grades 9 and 10: 65% classroom work, 20% mandatory final evaluations and 15% attendance and participation.
• Grades 11 and 12: 65% classroom work, 25% mandatory final evaluations and 10% attendance and participation.

In English, math and science, the whole final evaluation is a written exam. In most other subjects it is split between a written exam and a culminating task, for example 10% exam and 10% task in a Grade 9 or 10 arts course. All written final exams take place during the designated exam period, with one exception: in Grade 9 math (MTH1W), the EQAO Grade 9 math assessment counts as the exam and is worth 20% of the final mark.

Some courses are exempt from the written exam, including locally developed compulsory credit courses in Grades 9 and 10, workplace and open courses in Grades 11 and 12, co-operative education and most guidance courses. They still have a final evaluation, such as a project, presentation or portfolio.

The Attendance and Participation Mark

This mark combines unexcused absences with how your child takes part in class. Excused absences, such as illness, bad weather, cultural days and holy days, do not lower it.

• Level 4 (80 to 100%): misses up to 2.5% of classes, about 2 or fewer a semester, and consistently takes part.
• Level 3 (70 to 79%): misses 2.5% to 5%, about 2.5 to 4.5 classes, and generally takes part.
• Level 2 (60 to 69%): misses 5% to 7.5%, about 5 to 7 classes, and occasionally takes part.
• Level 1 (50 to 59%): misses 7.5% to 10%, about 7.5 to 9 classes, and infrequently takes part.
• Below level 1 (under 50%): misses more than 10%, more than 9 classes, and does not take part.

Taking part means joining discussions, asking relevant questions and respecting others. A quiet student who rarely speaks up can lose marks here.

Our guide to Ontario attendance rules and high school grades explains which absences count and what to do if the mark slips.

The Graduation Page and the Ontario Student Transcript

The final report card includes a Completion of Requirements for Graduation page. For students who started Grade 9 in 2024 or later, it tracks progress toward the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD):

• 30 credits: 17 compulsory and 13 optional. The compulsory credits include 4 in English, 3 in math, 2 in science, 1 in technological education (Grade 9 or 10) and 1 from a STEM-related group. Students who started Grade 9 in 2023 or earlier need 18 compulsory and 12 optional.
• 40 hours of community involvement.
• At least 2 online learning credits.
• The literacy requirement, which most students meet by passing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT), usually written in Grade 10. If your child does not pass, the principal can explain the other routes.
• The financial literacy requirement, for students who started Grade 9 in 2025-2026 or later.

Behind the report card sits the Ontario Student Transcript, your child's official, cumulative high school record. It lists every Grade 9 and 10 course your child passed, every attempt at a Grade 11 or 12 course, passed or not, and the other diploma requirements they have completed.

The Financial Literacy Requirement

New this school year, and built into the compulsory Grade 10 Career Studies course (GLC2O): students must score at least 70% on a set of TVO modules, worth 5% of the Career Studies mark. They get two attempts, and the higher mark counts. If they fall short, the school offers other ways to meet it the following semester.

EQAO: How Ontario Students Are Doing

EQAO assessments are separate from report cards: reading, writing and math in Grades 3 and 6, math in Grade 9, and the OSSLT in Grade 10. In the 2025-2026 results for English-language schools, 65% of Grade 3 students, 52% of Grade 6 students and 59% of Grade 9 students met the provincial standard in math, compared with 86% of Grade 6 students in reading. Math is where many families feel the pressure. For what the new results mean for your child, read our guide to the 2025-2026 EQAO results.

How to Read Your Child's Report Card

• Read the comments first. They explain the why behind the grade and usually name a next step.
• Put the learning skills beside the grades. They often point to the kind of help your child needs.
• Compare across reports. Is the same subject a struggle every term?
• Ask the teacher. A short conference right after a report card is often the fastest way to a plan.

Signs Your Child May Need Extra Support

• Grades dropping over more than one report
• "With difficulty" on the fall progress report, or an R or level 1 on the report card
• Comments about difficulty understanding concepts or needing a lot of support
• An S or N in organization, independent work or self-regulation, term after term
• Homework battles, low confidence or frustration with school

The earlier you act, the smaller the gap. To see a blank copy of any Ontario report card, including the 2026 Kindergarten and high school versions, visit the ministry's report card templates page.

How Connect Education Can Help

At Connect Education, families across Canada work one-on-one with licensed teachers. They can turn a comment like "with difficulty" or an N in organization into a clear plan.

• Certified teachers, not just tutors, matched to your child's grade, subject and goals.
• A personalized learning plan built around the next steps on your child's report card.
• Flexible scheduling online, in person or at a public library.
• Experience with IEPs, ADHD, dyslexia and other learning needs.
• Study skills and exam preparation for the new high school final evaluations.

When you are ready, find a certified tutor for your child.

Book a free 15-minute assessment with Connect Education and have your child's latest report card handy. Have a question first? Contact us.