Grade 11 and 12 Challenge Process

The challenge process for mature students is the process whereby students' prior learning is assessed for the purpose of granting credit for a Grade 11 or 12 course developed from an Ontario curriculum policy document published in 2000 or later.

Teachers are not required to provide instructional support to students. This is not an independent study process. Students should be given opportunities to learn about the process through print materials, an orientation session (if possible) and discussion with a counsellor. Assistance should be provided to students in gathering the evidence to support their application to challenge a course.

A.    Challenge Process Requirements

1. Boards publish a clear statement in course calendars stating when students may challenge for credit for Grade 11 and 12 courses, and what opportunities for challenge are available at schools under the jurisdiction of the board.
   • A board is not obliged to provide opportunities for mature students to challenge for courses that are not taught in that board’s schools; they may make arrangements with other boards to provide opportunities for students to challenge courses not offered.

2. Mature students may:
   • challenge for credit for up to 10 Grade 11 and 12 courses, with no limit to the number of credits that may be earned from a given curriculum policy document;
   • obtain no more than 10 Grade 11 and 12 credits through the challenge and Grade 11 and 12 equivalency processes combined;
   • challenge a course only if they can provide reasonable evidence to the principal that they are likely to be successful;
   • use certificates or other records of accomplishment earned outside Ontario classrooms as reasonable evidence of eligibility to challenge for credit;
   • may challenge a full- or half-credit course, but must challenge the entire course.

3. The student makes a request to challenge a course, and is provided with the application form.  The Ministry sample form “PLAR for Mature Students Application to Challenge for Credit for a Course” form may be used.  A board may choose to develop its own form, but that form must contain, at a minimum, what is on the sample form.  Students must be provided with materials that indicate what is expected in the course to be challenged.  A sample board form RECONNAISSANCE DES ACQUIS POUR LES ÉLÈVES EXPÉRIMENTÉS - DEMANDE DE REVENDICATION DU CRÉDIT POUR UN COURS is included in the appendix.

4. The student submits an application including relevant evidence to support the likelihood of success in the challenge (see below), and a statement explaining the reasons for challenging the course.

5. If a mature student, owing to extraordinary circumstances, wishes to prepare an affidavit as evidence of prior learning in order to support the application to challenge a course, the principal will ensure that the student receives advice regarding the required content of such an affidavit (e.g., exhibits which provide detailed evidence of the knowledge and skills related to the overall expectations of specific Grade 11 and 12 courses).
   • A board-generated sample affidavit form is included.

6. Each application is evaluated in consultation with the student and appropriate school staff to determine whether reasonable evidence for success exists and whether the challenge should occur. 

7. Students whose application to challenge for a credit has been approved by the principal should be given information about the expectations and nature of the assessment and about how their results will be recorded and reported on the OST.

8. Credit will be granted only for the specific course for which the student has successfully challenged for credit.  If a mature student disagrees with the decision of the principal about whether or not the student should challenge for credit, or whether or not the challenge has been successful, the student may ask the appropriate supervisory officer to review the matter.

9. A student cannot be granted credits through the challenge process for any of the following courses:
   • a course previously failed;
   • a course for which a credit has been earned but the student wishes to improve the mark;
   • a course where a credit has already been granted in that subject in a later grade;
   • a course which significantly overlaps a course for which credit has been granted;
   • a transfer course;
   • a locally developed course;
   • a cooperative education course;
   • an ESL or ELD or APD course if the student already has one or more credits in English;
   • an FSL or ALF or PDF course if the student has one or more credits in Français; or
   • the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course.

10. A student may challenge for credit for a specific course a second time after a reasonable interval if the student provides reasonable evidence that he or she is likely to be successful after having benefited from additional study and experience.

B.    Evidence of Success for a Challenge

The following types of evidence may be provided by the student to support their likelihood of success in the challenge:

• letter(s) of recommendation from teacher(s) familiar with the course expectations
• letter(s) of recommendation from member(s) of the community
• a portfolio of relevant work
• proof of successful relevant experience (e.g., work experience)
• proof of independent learning in a relevant area
• a videotape, audiotape, or CD-ROM with samples of relevant work
• proof of relevant prior learning from another educational jurisdiction
• proof of successful completion of courses identified as prerequisites for this course.

C.          Assessment and Evaluation of Challenges

Assessment and evaluation must be based on the overall curriculum expectations and the achievement charts in the Ontario curriculum policy documents, cover all the strands in a course, and all categories of knowledge and skills. 

Assessment and evaluation strategies for the challenge process must include:

• formal tests (70 per cent of the final mark) with a balance between written work and practical demonstration that is appropriate for the subject; and a variety of other assessment strategies appropriate for the particular course (30 per cent of the final mark), including evaluation of written assignments, demonstrations, performances, lab work, quizzes, and observation of student work.

D.    Record Keeping for Challenges

The “PLAR for Mature Students Record of Assessment of Challenge for Credit for a Course” sample form provided in PPM 132 is used to record the expectations covered in the challenge and the student’s results.  A board may choose to develop its own form, but that form must contain, at a minimum, what is on the sample form.

The “PLAR for Mature Students Challenge Process for Grade 11 and 12 Credits Interim Tracking Record" form must be used when a credit is challenged in a school outside the school that maintains the student’s OSR.  The principal of the student’s regular school must use the "PLAR for Mature Students Challenge Process for Grade 11 and 12 Credits Cumulative Tracking Record" form to enter the information from the interim form.  The cumulative form is then maintained in the student’s OSR.

Principals will ensure that the following entries are made on the appropriate tracking record form:

• the student's passing percentage grade; or
• failing percentage grade; or
• indication of withdrawal from the challenge process.  

A student's level of achievement for a challenge will be recorded as a percentage grade on the OST in the same way as achievement in other courses. The following entries must be made on the mature student's OST for challenges for Grade 11 and 12 courses:

• the student's passing percentage grade; or
• failing percentage grade.

No notation is entered on the OST if the student withdraws from the challenge process; further information is available in the OST Manual (2010).