Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD)
Rosedale centrally manages the academic administration of the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) for Rosedale Global High School from our head office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Students attending Rosedale Global High School with an international partner school register with Rosedale Global High School and are granted an OSSD upon meeting the graduation requirements.
Why We Chose OSSD to Develop Rosedale Global High School
From inception, Rosedale's objectives were clear:
Offer education with an emphasis on transformative competency development that will reshape the future of global education, while equipping students for our future world and to be the designers of their own path;
Create a program that fully values each student's unique talents, allowing them to take ownership of their learning, reach their highest potential, and discover their personal definition of lifelong success; and,
Impact global education so it is accessible to more students around the world, while ensuring we scale its delivery for our international partner schools.
With these clear objectives, and through a comprehensive analysis, we determined the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) system provides a much stronger foundation and more flexibility than any other curriculum in meeting our objectives and supporting Rosedale's vision of a transformative approach to learning.
We chose the OSSD because of its:
1. Skill Focus
The OSSD curriculum emphasizes and develops 21st century higher order thinking skills and transformative competencies through curriculum design, evaluation and pedagogical practice. "The goal is to prepare students to solve messy, complex problems—including problems we don't know about—associated with living in a competitive, globally connected, and technologically intensive world." (Ontario Ministry of Education, 21st Century Competencies Discussion Document)
2. Equity and Accessibility
"The Ontario education system is based on a vision of an equitable and inclusive system…where every student is supported and inspired to succeed in a culture of high expectations for learning …"  (Ontario Ministry of Education, Ontario Schools: Policies and Programs).  In fact, Ontario's education motto is "Support Every Child, Reach Every Student."  The OSSD program is able to do this through a flexible system that adapts to individual student interests, strengths, learning styles and goals. Teachers are required to differentiate their instruction and evaluation to meet the needs of the learners so every child has the support they need to succeed.
3. Progressive and Diverse Evaluations
Unlike education programs based on a standardized test model, the OSSD curriculum offers a progressive evaluation model that weighs all term work as a significant portion of a student's final grade. Through this model, students have multiple and diverse opportunities to demonstrate their learning throughout each course. The OSSD evaluation also allows a variety of formats of student work products (projects, case studies, reports, exams and more) in which a student has the ability to, and is required, to demonstrate their learning. The program provides educators the system-level support and flexibility they need to enable differentiated learning and evaluation.
4. Global Recognition
The OSSD is a world-renowned differentiated education program and is consistently evaluated as one of the top education systems in the world by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), a triennial international study that evaluates education systems worldwide, from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OSSD is also highly recognized by universities around the world.
Centralized OSSD Academic Administration
Rosedale Global High School is an independent, Ontario-based Canadian secondary school inspected by the Ontario Ministry of Education in Canada (#BSID 668726) and authorized to grant the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) to Rosedale Global High School graduates. Rosedale Global High School is inspected by the Ontario Ministry of Education.
Students attending Rosedale Global High School at international partner schools will register with Rosedale Global High School and will be granted the OSSD once they have met all graduation requirements. Upon graduation, students earn the world-renowned and globally recognized Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) and apply to global universities as a student attending an Ontario high school.
Academic Adminstration
1. Ontario Education Number (OEN)
At registration, each student in Rosedale Global High School  is assigned an Ontario Education Number (OEN) by the Ontario Ministry of Education. The OEN is a 9-digit student identification number that is unique to every Ontario elementary and secondary student. It is used as the key identifier on a student's school records and will follow the student throughout their elementary and secondary education.
Rosedale uses the online platform to manage program academic administration and the required reporting for the Ontario Ministry of Education. Administrators from international partner schools can log in to review OEN's directly.
2. Ontario Student Record (OSR)
The Ontario Student Record (OSR) is the ongoing, confidential record of an Ontario student's educational progress. Each Ontario school keeps a hard-copy OSR for each student enrolled at their school and continually adds academic materials to it, such as, report cards, transcripts and other important documents. The OSRs of all students in Rosedale Global High School are securely held at the Rosedale Head Office in Toronto.
3. Report Cards
Student achievement in Rosedale Global High School is formally communicated to students and parents through the Ontario report card. Report cards at Rosedale Global High School follow Ministry of Education report card templates. The report card focuses on two aspects of student achievement: the achievement of curriculum expectations and the development of learning skills.
Midterm report cards are issued when students have completed the first 50% of a course.
Final report cards are issued within 10 business days of the student's final exam.
Each report card shows:
The student's percentage grade in the course
The course median: This is the median of all Rosedale students taking the course
The credit earned: If the course has been successfully completed, 1.00 credit will be awarded; if the course has not been successfully completed, 0.00 credits are awarded
Grading teacher's descriptive comments: Comments can be made about student strengths, areas in which improvement is needed, and ways in which improvement might be achieved
Learning skills and work habits: Students are evaluated on a four-point scale in six categories: responsibility, organization, independent work, collaboration, initiative and self-regulation. E – Excellent, G – Good, S – Satisfactory, N – Needs Improvement
The evaluation of learning skills, apart from any that may be included as part of a curriculum expectation in a course, are not considered in the determination of percentage grades.
Grades in Ontario are reported as percentages in both and are defined as follows:
A credit is granted and recorded for each course in which the student's grade is 50% or higher.
4. OSSD Credit
Students receive one credit for each Ontario course they successfully complete at Rosedale Global High School. To earn the credit, the student must receive a minimum average of 50% in the course. Once the credit is successfully earned, the course and the grade will be posted on the student's Ontario Student Transcript.
5. Ontario Student Transcript (OST)
The Ontario Student Transcript is a provincially standardized document that provides a complete record of all Ontario secondary school credit courses taken. Any course completed successfully, withdrawn from or failed will appear on the student transcript along with the marks earned in each course. Transcripts can be requested at any time, and they can be sent to post-secondary institutions across Canada and worldwide. At graduation, the final transcript will be signed, sealed and sent to Rosedale's international partner schools along with the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. For more information, please refer to:  http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/ost/ost2013.pdf
6. Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD)
Rosedale issues the Ontario Secondary School Diploma, (OSSD) to students who meet all of the requirements laid out by the Ontario Ministry of Education. Upon successful completion of the program, students are able to graduate and attend post-secondary programs.
Ontario Scholar Certificates (OSC) are also issued for Rosedale graduating students whose six highest Grade 12 courses have an average above 80%.
The diplomas are sent to students at international partner schools at the time of graduation along with final transcripts.
7. OSSD Graduation Requirements
Students have to meet the following three requirements in order to graduate from Rosedale Global High School with an OSSD.
Earn a total of 30 credits
Students have to earn a total of 30 credits from Grades 9 to 12, including:
18 compulsory credits, earned in English, Mathematics, Science, Secondary Language, History, Geography, Civics and Career Studies, Art and Physical Education.
12 optional credits, earned in courses that the student may select from the full range of courses offered by the school.
Students receive 1 credit for each course they successfully complete. To earn the credit, the student must receive a minimum average of 50% in the course.
For students who are admitted to Rosedale after Grade 9, Rosedale offers Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR). This process grants students equivalent OSSD credits based on their prior learning.
Complete 40 hours of Community Involvement Activities
Each student must find, organize and complete a minimum of 40 hours of Community Involvement Activities. The purpose of this requirement is to encourage students to develop an understanding of the various roles they play in their community, and to help them develop a greater sense of belonging within the community.
The number of required hours depends on what grade the student enters Rosedale. Rosedale provides international partner schools with the guidance needed to help students meet the community involvement requirements.
Meet the Provincial Literacy Requirement
Each student must meet the Provincial Literacy Requirement by either successfully passing the standardized Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) or passing the Ontario Literacy Credit Course (OLC4O). This requirement ensures that all students have the essential competencies in reading and writing that they will need to succeed at school, at work and in daily life.
Under the direction of the Ontario Ministry of Education, the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) offers the OSSLT once every year. Rosedale Academy Head Office is responsible for registering all eligible students with the EQAO.
Grade 12 students who are unsuccessful in passing the OSSLT must successfully complete an additional course, the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OLC4O), to meet the literacy requirement for graduation. An additional fee will apply. Students cannot take the OLC4O without having attempted the OSSLT.
8. Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR) for International Students
For students who are admitted to Rosedale after Grade 9, Rosedale offers Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR). This process is completed by Rosedale's counselling team, and involves the assessment of an entering student's prior transcripts and the granting of equivalent OSSD credits. Through PLAR, students can receive credits based on what they've previously learned.
9. English Language Placement Test
To ensure students can successfully complete the OSSD program and to make accurate OSSD course recommendations, the English Placement Test is administered to assess the student's English level when entering Rosedale Global High School. The student's CEFR levels are reported at the conclusion of the test. An IELTS/TOEFL/Duolingo or Cambridge Test score can be submitted at the time of registration in lieu of taking the test.
This is mandatory for all students who are from a non-native English-speaking country or from an education system that is not taught full-time in English. Rosedale Global High School is an academically rigorous program and has set English Language Proficiency as one of the admission criteria to ensure students can succeed in the program.
10. OSSD Central Evaluation
All course evaluations in Rosedale Global High School are centrally managed by Rosedale's Central Evaluation Team located at Rosedale's Head Office in Toronto.
All student assessments are submitted on Rosedale's Digital Learning System and are graded by Rosedale's experienced Ontario Certified Teachers. Through Centralized Evaluation, students, parents, and post-secondary institutions can be assured the accuracy, consistency, and transparency of evaluation. Rosedale Academy also holds high standards of academic rigor and academic integrity through central management of course evaluation.
Rosedale's Grading Teachers also provide quality feedback to all students and collaborate with classroom teachers in partner schools to recommend personalized learning strategies and help students improve throughout the school year.
11. Rosedale's Academic Administration System
Rosedale Global High School uses the Edsembli System to manage our Global High School Academic Administration and transfer student data to the Ontario Ministry of Education. As one of the most widely used academic administration systems in North America, Edsembli keeps records of each student including biographical information, course enrolment, credits and grades earned, and progress to graduation. Rosedale provides an Edsembli administrative account to each international partner school, allowing them access to student enrolment information and a summary of credits for each student.
12. Applying to Global Universities as OSSD students
The chart below provides a general overview of what universities require based on country of diploma. The OSSD is world-renowned and accepted globally without the requirement of additional external testing.
13. Rosedale Global High School Compliance
Rosedale Global High School is registered as an online school with the Ontario Ministry of Education. In Rosedale Global High School, Rosedale offers digital curriculum, central evaluation, academic administration, and student learning supports through our digital learning platform under MOE compliance. Students register through our international partner schools to receive classroom instruction, learning facilitation and local student services with dedicated local staff. This collaborative approach provides enhanced student learning experiences and supports holistic student success.
Rosedale Global High School provides a series of teacher and administrator training programs to international partner schools to ensure the quality and integrity of program delivery. However, this collaboration does not provide any partner institution with the authority to grant OSSD credits. Rosedale Global High School does not own any campus or affiliated school overseas that offer our OSSD program. Rosedale Global High School's collaboration model and compliance are clearly communicated in all program materials. Rosedale Global High School has defined Program Marketing Policies and detailed  Program Marketing Guidelines to direct all of our international partner schools in marketing compliance.
14. Rosedale Global High School Course Calendar
Rosedale Global High School's 2022-2023 Course Calendar is available here for download.