Saskatchewan High School at a Glance
| The diploma | Grade 12 standing, built from 24 recognized credits earned in grades 10 to 12. |
|---|---|
| Required courses | English language arts, math, science, and social sciences, plus a Grade 10 Financial Literacy credit for students who entered Grade 10 in September 2024 or later, with electives filling the rest. Confirm the current list on the province's graduation pages. |
| Who issues transcripts | The province. High school and Adult 12 transcripts are requested through saskatchewan.ca. |
| How homeschoolers earn credits | Sask DLC online courses at no tuition while registered home-based, or enrolling for the senior years. |
| The course-load line | One or two outside courses keeps home-based standing in most divisions. Three or more usually reclassifies your teen as an enrolled student. |
| Backup routes | Adult 12 standing at 18 and over and out of school a year (seven credits instead of 24), the CAEC, and non-standard university admission. |
Why Home-Based Education Alone Grants No Diploma
Here is the rule that catches families off guard. A registered home-based student is not an enrolled credit student, so the work you assess at home never lands on an official transcript, no matter how strong it is. The province records credits only from recognized courses assessed by certified teachers, and the diploma is nothing more than 24 of those credits in the right pattern. Your June progress report keeps your registration in good standing, but it builds no credit record.
None of that is a problem if you plan for it. The fix is to bring recognized courses into the high school years, and Saskatchewan makes that easier and cheaper than any other province. Start the planning in grade 9, not grade 12, and the whole thing stays calm.
What Grade 12 Standing Requires
Graduation in Saskatchewan means 24 credits earned in grades 10 to 12, with required courses in English language arts, math, science, and social sciences, plus electives your teen chooses. Saskatchewan changed that pattern for students entering Grade 10 in September 2024 and after: it added a new Grade 10 Financial Literacy credit, moved English language arts from five required credits to three (one each at the 10, 20, and 30 levels), and moved social sciences from three to two. The total to graduate is still 24. Every student now in grades 10, 11, and 12 is under the new pattern. A typical enrolled student carries eight or nine courses a year for three years. The exact required list shifts over time, so check the province's current graduation requirements as you map the plan rather than trusting any blog, ours included.
Transcripts are requested from the province through saskatchewan.ca, not from your school division, and your teen can request one any time credits exist. That matters for university applications, since the transcript is the document admissions offices trust. Every recognized course your teen completes, from any accredited Saskatchewan school, lands in the same place.
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How a Homeschooled Teen Earns the Credits
Credits need a recognized course and a certified teacher's assessment behind them. A home-based teen reaches that in one of two ways, and plenty of families blend them across the three years.
Take Sask DLC Courses While Registered
Sask DLC, the province's online school, charges no tuition to Saskatchewan K to 12 students, and that includes teens registered in home-based education. Your teen keeps homeschool freedom in most subjects and earns real, transcript-ready credits in the courses that count. Watch the course-load line: in most divisions, one or two outside courses keeps home-based standing, while three or more reclassifies your teen as an enrolled student for the year. Confirm where your division draws it with your home-based coordinator before you register for the year.
Enrol for the Senior Years
Families who want the full diploma often shift from home-based registration to enrolment for grades 11 and 12, either with Sask DLC full-time or at a local school. Your teen becomes a credit student, carries a full course load, and graduates with the same Grade 12 standing as any classmate. Homeschooling did the work of getting them ready, and the last two years put the official record on paper. Our guide to how to homeschool in Saskatchewan covers how registration and enrolment differ.
Adult 12, the CAEC, and University Routes
Teens who reach 18 without the credit pattern have a shorter road: Adult 12 standing, open to adult students who are 18 and have been out of school for at least a year, and built from seven credits rather than 24, five of them at the 30 level, with the math and science requirement allowed at the 20 or 30 level. The Canadian Adult Education Credential, the test that replaced the GED in 2024, offers an equivalency route as well. Both work, and both cost far less stress than cramming a full 24-credit plan into two years.
University does not require the diploma either. Saskatchewan universities admit homeschooled applicants through non-standard and special admission categories, weighing course marks, portfolios, and sometimes supplemental testing. The University of Saskatchewan runs a Home-Based Learners category for its College of Arts and Science, where applicants submit an academic portfolio and a statement of intent showing their preparedness for university study. A teen with a handful of strong 30-level Sask DLC marks walks into that conversation well armed. Check the target program's requirements in grade 10, and let those requirements pick the credits. Division grants can even cover materials along the way, which our Saskatchewan funding guide maps out.
Credits and transcripts are the record. The teaching plan underneath them is the work.
Get the GuideHow to plan courses, keep records, and build a year that adds up.
A Note from Homeschool Teacher Guide: What This Really Means for You
We rank Saskatchewan among the best provinces in Canada to homeschool a teenager, and the reason is Sask DLC's price tag: zero. In BC the credits flow through schools that hold the funding, in Ontario families pay course fees for OSSD credits, and in New Brunswick the diploma is out of reach entirely for a child taught at home. A Saskatchewan teen keeps the homeschool and collects free official credits in the subjects that matter, which is the deal families in other provinces wish they had.
Our advice is to treat grade 9 as the planning year: pick the target, whether that's the full diploma, a few strong 30-level credits, or Adult 12 later, and let the target set the course list. Keep your registration current, mind the course-load line, and spend the saved money on the subjects you still teach at home. The teaching is still yours. Saskatchewan just makes the paperwork cheap.
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☕ Buy us a coffee ($5)Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Homeschooled Teen Graduate in Saskatchewan?
Yes, by adding recognized credits to the homeschool. Home-based education alone earns none, so teens take Sask DLC courses while registered, or enrol for the senior years, and the credits land on an official provincial transcript. Families who start planning in grade 9 fit the pattern in without drama.
Are Sask DLC Courses Really Free?
Yes. Sask DLC charges no tuition to Saskatchewan K to 12 students, including teens registered in home-based education, because the province funds the seats. Families cover incidentals like some course materials, and nothing else. No other province hands homeschooled teens official credits at that price.
How Many Courses Can My Teen Take and Stay Home-Based?
In most divisions, one or two outside courses keeps home-based standing, while three or more turns your teen into an enrolled institutional student for that year. The reclassification changes who supervises the program, so it matters. Ask your division's home-based education coordinator where the line sits before you commit to a course list.
What Is Adult 12?
Adult 12 is Saskatchewan's shorter route to Grade 12 standing for students who are 18 and have been out of school for at least a year. It takes seven credits instead of 24, five of them at the 30 level. It suits teens who homeschooled through high school without collecting the full 24-credit pattern, once they have been out a year. The CAEC, the test that replaced the GED in 2024, is a separate equivalency option that some programs accept instead.
Can My Teen Get Into University Without a Diploma?
Yes. Saskatchewan universities run non-standard and special admission categories for homeschooled applicants, weighing course marks, portfolios, and sometimes supplemental testing. A few strong 30-level marks from Sask DLC carry real weight in that file. Pull the target program's admission page in grade 10 and build the course plan backward from it.
Sources
This guide was verified in August 2026 against the following primary sources. Requirements change, so confirm anything that affects your teen's plan directly with the source.
- Government of Saskatchewan: Credits, Degrees and Transcripts
- Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre (Sask DLC)
- Government of Saskatchewan: Home-Based Education
- Government of Saskatchewan: Home-based Education Policy and Procedures Manual (PDF)
- Government of Saskatchewan: Changes Coming to Graduation Credit Requirements for 2024-25
- University of Saskatchewan: 2026-27 Admission Requirements (Home-Based Learners)