Math101 · Independent Ontario learning library
Curriculum achievement and learning skills are different
Ontario report cards communicate achievement of curriculum expectations and also report learning skills/work habits. The commonly reported learning skills are:
- responsibility;
- organization;
- independent work;
- collaboration;
- initiative;
- self-regulation.
Growing Success treats these as important and generally separate from the curriculum grade except where a curriculum expectation itself involves the relevant skill. A student can understand mathematics and still struggle to submit work; another can be highly organized while needing concept support.
Levels and percentages
Elementary reporting uses provincial achievement levels and other reporting conventions for the grade/division. Secondary credit courses report percentage grades. Ontario describes Level 3 as the provincial standard, while Level 4 represents achievement above it; neither label should be turned into a fixed identity.
Ask the teacher which curriculum expectations and recent evidence produced the result.
Secondary marks change in 2026–27
Ontario’s published September 2026 update makes attendance and participation part of secondary final grades: 15% in Grades 9–10 and 10% in Grades 11–12. Classroom work accounts for 65%; mandatory final evaluation accounts for 20% in Grades 9–10 and 25% in Grades 11–12. Subject-specific exam/task splits and listed exemptions matter. Excused absences are not supposed to lower this component.
For a current secondary report, ask the school to show how classroom evidence, final evaluation, attendance/participation, excused absences, and any exemption or accommodation were recorded. This new component should not be confused with the six learning-skills ratings described above.
Read the whole pattern
| Signal | Possible question |
|---|---|
| Achievement fell, learning skills stable | Which concept or assessment changed? |
| Achievement stable, organization declined | Is workload, portal use, sleep, attendance, or executive function changing? |
| Strong work habits, low achievement | Is the practice method aligned with the skill? Is prerequisite knowledge missing? |
| Comments and grade seem inconsistent | Which evidence is most recent and most representative? |
| Many “insufficient evidence” or missing tasks | What blocks participation or submission? |
These are hypotheses, not diagnoses.
Useful work samples
Choose three:
- one successful recent task;
- one task showing the recurring error;
- one assignment the student avoided or could not complete.
Ask: What is different across them? Look at problem type, reading demand, number of steps, feedback use, time, environment, and help received.
Ask for the next teachable target
Weak target: “Bring math from 68 to 80.”
Teachable target: “Accurately solve and check multi-step linear equations, including negative signs, in mixed practice.”
Weak target: “Be more responsible.”
Observable target: “Record every assignment in one system and show completed work to the teacher each Friday for three weeks.”
When to ask about support
Seek a conversation when there is a persistent pattern, a large unexpected change, repeated missing evidence, distress, attendance difficulty, accommodation concern, or a gap that affects the next course. Ask what classroom interventions have been tried and how progress will be monitored.
Does an E, G, S or N learning-skill rating directly change the subject grade?
Ontario policy generally reports learning skills separately from achievement of curriculum expectations, except where a curriculum expectation includes the skill. Ask the teacher how the specific grade was determined.
Is Level 3 a bad result?
Ontario identifies Level 3 as the provincial standard. The useful interpretation depends on the expectation, evidence, trend, and student needs—not status comparisons.
Sources
- Ontario student assessment, evaluations and report cards
- Ontario Growing Success policy and updates
- The student’s current provincial report card and teacher evidence
