Ontario Mandatory Exams: A Tutor's Guide

At the Toronto District School Board, semester one exams run from January 25 to February 1, 2027. Starting this school year, most Grade 9 to 12 courses in Ontario must end with a written exam, and in senior English, math and science that exam is a quarter of the final mark.

If you tutor Ontario high school students, the exam is no longer something a student can treat as optional or easy to offset. Ontario's mandatory exams are part of an update to Growing Success, the provincial assessment policy, which took effect this September and applies in every public board. The sessions you run between now and January are where your students get ready for it.

What are Ontario's mandatory exams worth in each subject?

In English, math and science, the written exam is worth 20 per cent of the final mark in Grades 9 and 10 and 25 per cent in Grades 11 and 12. In most other subjects, the final evaluation is split between a shorter written exam and a culminating task (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2026).

The full mark now has three parts. Classroom work across the semester is 65 per cent. The final evaluation is 20 per cent in Grades 9 and 10 and 25 per cent in Grades 11 and 12. Attendance and participation make up the rest, 15 or 10 per cent, and only unexcused absences count against it; our parent guide to Ontario's attendance mark explains how that part is scored.

The split inside the final evaluation is what should shape your planning, because it changes by subject and by grade:

Two patterns stand out. In the core subjects the exam is the whole final evaluation, so a weak exam has nowhere to hide. In the arts, languages, technology and health and physical education, the culminating task outweighs the exam in Grades 11 and 12, which means project coaching matters as much as exam drills.

Which courses do not have a written exam?

The Ministry exempts Grade 9 and 10 locally developed compulsory credit courses, Grade 11 and 12 workplace preparation (E) and open (O) courses, and four subject areas: Guidance and Career Education (except Grade 10 Career Studies), Co-operative Education, Interdisciplinary Studies, and American Sign Language as a Second Language. These courses still carry the full 20 or 25 per cent final evaluation. It just may take the form of an in-class written evaluation, a project, a presentation or a portfolio.

So check the course code before you plan. A student in an open Grade 11 course and a student in the university-preparation version of the same subject need very different preparation.

When the first exams land

All written finals take place during each board's designated exam period, so the date depends on the school. At the Toronto District School Board, the January window is followed by semester two exams on June 21 to 25, 2027 (TDSB, 2026). Ask every family for their school's calendar and write the exam window into your plan this week.

Grade 9 math runs on its own clock. The EQAO assessment counts as the written exam for the de-streamed course and its winter window opens January 12, 2027, which can fall before a school's own exam days (EQAO, 2026). If you are already tutoring Grade 9 math under the new curriculum, confirm which window the school is using.

How should tutors prepare students for Ontario's final exams?

Start now, plan backward from the exam window, and spread the review across every session rather than saving it for January. From early October there are about 16 weeks to a late-January exam, and fewer weekly sessions once the winter break is taken out.

1. Get the course outline, returned unit tests and any review package the teacher shares. They show what this teacher emphasizes, which no general prep book can.
2. Map the course to its overall expectations in the Ontario curriculum. Mark each unit as solid, shaky or not yet taught, and revisit the shaky ones on a schedule.
3. Open every session with three or four retrieval questions from earlier units. Five minutes of mixed review each week does more for an end-of-course exam than a long cram in the final days.
4. Add timed practice in small doses from October, then run one full-length mock in early January, matched to the exam length the school gives.
5. In split-weight courses, ask for the culminating task outline early and coach the task alongside the exam. In Grade 11 and 12 arts and languages, the task is the bigger share.
6. Send families a short note after each session: what was covered, which unit is next, and how many weeks remain. It keeps everyone working to the same date.

What students and families are feeling

Students starting the year told CBC News the new weighting puts "a lot more pressure" on them, and several said the focus on exams makes them anxious (CBC News, September 2026). Experts are divided too: some expect exams to help students retain what they learn and prepare for post-secondary study, while others worry about anxiety (York University Faculty of Education, July 2026).

Whatever your view, the students in front of you are writing these exams this year. Familiarity is the best answer to nerves: a student who has sat several timed practice papers with you walks into the exam room knowing what the first ten minutes feel like. Name that goal with the student and the family, and the practice reads as preparation rather than pressure.

Tutoring with Connect Education

Connect Education works exclusively with certified teachers who hold a professional teacher certificate in good standing. With exams now weighted in nearly every Ontario high school course, families are looking for teachers who know the curriculum and can plan a semester, not just a cram week. You set your subjects, rate and hours, and work online, in person or at a public library with families across Canada.

See what certified teachers earn tutoring, read how to become a tutor on the platform, or start tutoring with Connect Education.