Ontario students will soon be required to pass a financial literacy test as part of a number of changes coming to the requirements needed to earn a high school diploma.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce says students will learn home economics such as managing a household budget and how to protect themselves against financial fraud.
He says students will need at least 70 per cent on the financial literacy test in order to graduate and it will first be offered in Grade 10 math.
Lecce says students will need the financial literacy requirement beginning in 2025.
“Too many parents, employers and students themselves tell me that students are graduating without sufficient financial literacy and basic life skills,” Lecce said in a statement.
“By elevating life skills in the classroom, along with better career education and higher math standards on educators, we are setting up every student for lifelong success. Our bottom line: ensuring students graduate with practical learning that leads them to better jobs and bigger paycheques.”
The province will also reinstate the math proficiency test for students applying to teachers’ college.
Lecce says the province will also modernize guidance and career education as it has not been updated since 2013.