High School
High school completion options
At the end of high school an individual can earn a:
• Alberta High School Diploma
• Certificate of High School Achievement
• Certificate of School Completion
Most students complete high school in three years.
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​​Pathways to High School Completion
Diploma vs. Certificate of Achievement:
• certain courses are required for Alberta High School
Diploma or Certificate of High School Achievement
• some Grade 10 courses are prerequisites for more
advanced senior high school courses
• when planning a high school program, students need to
consider their strengths and what they are likely to do
after Grade 12 (e.g. post-secondary education,
apprenticeship, workforce)
• most students obtain a High School Diploma
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Alberta High School Diploma
Minimum of 100 credits including:
• English 30-1 or 30-2;
• Social Studies 30-1 or 30-2
• Math 20-1, 20-2, or 20-3;
• Science 20 or 24, Biology 20, Chemistry 20, or Physics 20;
• Physical Education 10;
• Career and Life Management (CALM);
• Career and Technology Studies, Fine Arts, Second
Languages, PE 20 or 30, Knowledge and Employability
Occupational Courses, Registered Apprenticeship
Program (RAP) – minimum of 10 credits in any
combination; and
• 10 credits at the 30 level other than English or Social.
*Any student interested in attending University or College after High School will require a High School Diploma
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Certificate of High School Achievement
Minimum of 80 credits including:
• English 20-2 or 30-4;
• Math 10-3 or 20-4;
• Science 14 or 20-4;
• Physical Education 10;
• Career and Life Management (CALM);
• Career and Technology Studies (CTS) or Knowledge and
Employability (K&E) Occupational Course 30 level - 5
credits; and
• K & E Workplace Practicum, Work Experience, Registered
Apprenticeship Program (RAP), Green Certificate, or
Special Projects 30 level - 5 credits.
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​Alberta Certificate of High School Completion
The Certificate of School Completion may be awarded to students with a significant cognitive disability
Student requirements include:
• in school for at least 12 years (and is 17 years of age by
March 1st of the current year);
• Involved in Inclusive education programming;
• nominated by the principal in the last year of school
programming;
• worked towards goals and objectives in an I.S.P
(Instructional Support Plan); and
• typically, did not achieve credits in any high school
English, mathematics, social studies, or science courses.
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What is a Credit?
• each course in high school has a credit value
• credit is a unit of learning time based on hours of
instruction
• one credit is achieved for 25 hours of instruction
• at least 50% must be achieved in each course to earn
the credit(s)
• students can only receive credits for a course once
• if a student chooses to repeat a course to upgrade their
mark, they will be awarded the highest mark achieved
but not earn any additional credits
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Course Numbers
Most courses have three digits.
• the first two digits refers to the year of high school: 10
refers to Grade 10, 20 refers to Grade 11, or 30 refers to
Grade 12
• the hyphenated number refers to the route of the
program
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Prerequisites
The course needed to qualify for participation in a
particular class is called a prerequisite. For example:
• to qualify for placement in English 20-1, English 10-1 must
be successfully completed
• English 10-1 is the prerequisite for English 20-1