TVO Grade 10 Financial Literacy Test: The Seven Topics and a Prep Checklist for 2026–27
A preparation checklist for the first year of Ontario’s financial literacy graduation requirement: the format in one table, the seven topics TVO names, and what a student should be able to do in each before the attempt.
The Ontario Grade 10 financial literacy test is the Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement: TVO-developed learning modules and assessment questions completed inside the compulsory Grade 10 Career Studies course. Students who entered Grade 9 in 2025–2026 or later need at least 70% to earn the Ontario Secondary School Diploma, with up to two attempts, and the result counts for 5% of the Career Studies mark. The most direct preparation is a short review of the seven topics TVO names (budgeting, interest rates, earning and saving, taxes, credit and debt, consumer awareness, financial fraud) plus a practice assessment on TVO Learn.
Timing matters this autumn. Ontario policy places the first attempt in the first half of the course, for example weeks 3 to 5 in a semestered schedule, so a Career Studies class that began in early September is inside that window now.
The rule in plain language →Attempts, results and options →School sessions →
Who takes the financial literacy test in 2026–27
The first cohort is every Ontario student who entered Grade 9 in 2025–2026 or later and takes Grade 10 Career Studies from the 2026–2027 school year. Ontario expects most students to complete the modules when they take Grade 10 Career Studies (ontario.ca).
Three groups are exempt: students who took Career Studies before 2026–2027; students who took a locally developed Grade 9 Mathematics course in place of MTH1W before September 2027; and students arriving in Grade 11 or 12 from outside Ontario whose principal grants Grade 9 and 10 credits, including Career Studies. From September 2028 the locally developed Grade 9 math exemption ends. The requirement guide covers the rule in more detail.
Format at a glance: TVO modules, 70% mark, two attempts, 5% of the grade
The requirement is a set of TVO learning modules with assessment questions, administered by the school during Career Studies. Every figure below comes from Ontario’s policy text or its page for parents.
| Item | What Ontario sets |
|---|---|
| What it is | Learning modules and assessment questions developed by TVO, on core concepts from the Grades 1–9 curriculum |
| Length | Typically less than one class period, per Ontario’s sample letter to parents |
| Pass mark | 70% or higher |
| Attempts | Up to 2 during the course; the higher mark counts |
| When | First half of the course (weeks 3–5 semestered); second attempt in the third quarter (weeks 6–7) |
| Results | Sent to parents within 5 days of each attempt |
| Weight | 5% of the final Career Studies mark |
| Online Career Studies | In person on the day, unless the course has secure online proctoring |
| Once met | Recorded on the Ontario Student Transcript, and stays met |
What happens after a second result under 70%, and how families choose among the options, is on our assessment page for families.
Topic-by-topic prep checklist: budget, credit, saving, investing, fraud
TVO names seven concepts the requirement evaluates: budgeting, interest rates, earning and saving, taxes, credit and debt, consumer awareness, and financial fraud (TVO Learn). The questions stay with schools; the checklist below turns each topic into things a student should be able to do and explain in their own words.
1. Budgeting
- List a month of income and expenses and find what is left.
- Sort costs into fixed and variable, and needs and wants.
- Rework a budget when one cost rises. A current example: Statistics Canada counts housing as unaffordable at 30% or more of before-tax income, and 23.2% of households were over that line in 2024 (our news brief).
2. Interest rates
- Explain simple and compound interest with a worked example.
- Compare the rate on a savings account with the rate on a credit card.
- Show how a higher rate changes the total cost of a loan.
3. Earning and saving
- Read a pay stub: gross pay, deductions, net pay.
- Set a savings goal with an amount and a date.
- Explain why an emergency reserve comes before most other goals.
4. Taxes
- Name the deductions on a pay stub and the sales tax on a receipt.
- Explain why income tax comes off a pay cheque before it reaches the bank account.
5. Credit and debt
- Explain what a credit score is used for.
- Show what paying only the minimum on a card does over a year.
- Tell borrowing for an asset apart from borrowing for spending.
6. Consumer awareness
- Compare two phone plans or subscriptions on total cost.
- Read the key terms of a contract before signing.
- Use unit prices to compare products.
7. Financial fraud
- Spot phishing messages and fake payment requests.
- Keep passwords, PINs and personal information private; Ontario lists keeping your information safe next to fraud protection.
- Recognize offers that promise fast, certain profits.
Ontario’s learning-at-home list adds investing to this ground: it names loans, credit and investment options, and the pros and cons of bank accounts and credit cards (ontario.ca).
Practice that sticks: simulation, worksheets and TVO practice
Each practice format trains a different step. Worksheets check the term, TVO practice assessments rehearse the question style, and a simulation makes a student use several concepts at once and live with the result.
| Format | What it trains | Best moment |
|---|---|---|
| Worksheets and definitions | Vocabulary: interest, net pay, credit score | Weeks 1–2 of the course |
| TVO Learn practice assessments | The question style of the requirement | Before each attempt |
| Life Capital simulation | Budget, borrowing, saving, risk and negotiation decided together, with a debrief on the player’s own ledger | Before the first attempt, or between the two |
In a Life Capital session each player keeps income and spending in a paper ledger through about forty years of a simulated life, with a Trainer running the table and a Banker keeping the accounts. Players borrow, invest and absorb a job loss or whatever the cards deal them. The debrief closes the session: each player reads their own ledger aloud and says what each decision cost. The assessment, the TVO modules and the mark belong to the school and the province; the session is practice alongside them.
For teachers: a 45–60 minute lesson or a club
A Career Studies teacher can add practice in three formats that fit a school timetable, all listed on the Ontario school program page.
- Classroom lesson, 45–60 minutes: 20–30 students, several tables at once, led by a Life Capital Trainer in English.
- School club, 2 hours a meeting: 10–16 students across the school year, led by a teacher prepared in the methodology (the preparation is taught in Ukrainian); club teams can go on to the Canadian national tournament.
- School tournament, 3–4 hours: 4–6 teams in a gym or hall.
A school gets a PDF set and checklists on registration. Two dates help with planning: TVO lists a live introduction webinar on the requirement for 30 September 2026 (TVO Learn), and November is Financial Literacy Month, and the 2026 campaign is called “Talk Money” (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada).
Why schools book Life Capital, from what is on record:
- The methodology has run since 2017, when a team of authors created it in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
- It was approved for use in Ukrainian general schools by an Institute for Modernisation of the Content of Education letter of 28 January 2020, No. 22.1/12–Г–73.
- Canadian national stages ran at Carleton University, Ottawa, in 2025 and in Ottawa on 14 March 2026.
- Rotary District 7040 supported the 2025 Canadian national tournament.
- Every table has a Trainer and a Banker, and in a school session students keep their own paper ledgers; nothing about them is recorded online.
Ask for the school pack →Train as a Trainer →
For parents: practising at home
Parents can cover most of the checklist with the family’s own paperwork in a few evenings. Five tasks that work:
- Build next month’s budget together from a real bill and a pay stub.
- Compare two phone plans on total cost for a year.
- Look at a credit card statement and find the interest rate and the minimum payment.
- Go through one scam text or email and name the signs.
- Open TVO Learn together and try a practice assessment.
For a full day of practice, book two seats at an open session: five hours from 13:00, usually at a weekend, for teens from 14 and adults, in English or Ukrainian. A seat is CAD 150, or CAD 100 each when two or more book together (prices as of August 2026). The details are on the pricing page and the program for teens.
Ask for an open-session date →What a seat costs →
Sources
- Ontario: Financial literacy education in schools (updated 22 April 2026)
- Ontario Schools, K–12: diploma and certificate requirements, section 6.1.4
- TVO Learn: Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: Financial Literacy Month
- Statistics Canada: Housing affordability in Canada, 2024 (released 21 September 2026)
Questions people search for
What is on the Grade 10 financial literacy test in Ontario?
TVO says the Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement evaluates budgeting, interest rates, earning and saving, taxes, credit and debt, consumer awareness and financial fraud. Ontario adds that it assesses core concepts from the Grades 1 to 9 curriculum.
How many attempts do you get on the TVO financial literacy test, and what mark passes?
Up to two attempts during the Grade 10 Career Studies course, and a pass needs 70% or higher. If a student attempts twice, the higher mark counts toward the 5% of the course grade.
When do students write the Grade 10 financial literacy test?
Ontario policy places the first attempt in the first half of Career Studies (for example, weeks 3 to 5 in a semestered schedule) and a second attempt in the third quarter (for example, weeks 6 to 7). The school tells families the date in the first week of the course.
How long is the financial literacy test?
Ontario’s sample letter to parents says the modules and assessment questions typically take less than one class period to complete.
Can students practise for the TVO financial literacy test?
Yes. TVO Learn publishes practice assessments, learning modules and teacher toolkits on its Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement page, and schools offer help between the two attempts.