Province curriculum guide
British Columbia's redesigned curriculum is competency-based, with big ideas, curricular competencies and content working together from Kindergarten through graduation.
Grades
K-Grade 12
Assessments
FSA + Graduation Assessments
Credential
Dogwood Diploma
Senior naming
Graduation program courses
Status
How school is organised
The British Columbia Ministry of Education and Child Care publishes the K-12 curriculum through a dedicated curriculum portal. The local language is distinctive: big ideas explain what students should understand, curricular competencies explain what they should do, and content names what they should know.
Kindergarten through Grade 9 sits inside the redesigned curriculum model, while Grades 10 to 12 connect that model to graduation program courses and provincial assessments. Parents should expect assignments that ask for reflection, process and explanation, not only a final answer.
BC report-card conversations often use proficiency language in earlier grades and percentage marks in many senior contexts. A tutor should ask how the school reports progress before interpreting a mark or a teacher comment.
Subject names parents search
Also searched as: BC ELA curriculum
BC English Language Arts asks students to work with text, identity, communication and critical thinking. Tutoring should connect a current assignment to the big idea and curricular competency, not only to a grammar or comprehension worksheet.
English by gradeAlso searched as: BC Math curriculum
BC Mathematics is organised through big ideas, curricular competencies and content. A good lesson names the skill, models the strategy and asks the student to explain the reasoning because communication is part of mathematical competency.
Math by gradeAlso searched as: BC Science curriculum
BC Science blends inquiry habits with content about life, physical and earth sciences. The curriculum language rewards students who can ask questions, process evidence and connect a concept to a phenomenon.
Science by gradeAlso searched as: BC ADST
BC does not rely on a single elementary computer subject label. Computing, design thinking, digital skills and technologies sit within Applied Design, Skills and Technologies and may appear through local projects.
Computer by gradeAssessments
The Foundation Skills Assessment is BC's provincewide assessment for Grades 4 and 7. BC describes it as measuring literacy and numeracy skills and linking to language arts and mathematics curriculum.
Graduation requirements include provincial assessments in numeracy and literacy. Current BC graduation policy identifies the Grade 10 Numeracy Assessment and Grade 10 and Grade 12 Literacy Assessments as part of the graduation program.
Those assessments are not the same as a course test. They ask students to apply broad literacy and numeracy skills, so preparation should include reasoning, explanation and interpretation across contexts.
Graduation
BC senior planning is best understood through graduation program requirements rather than a single provincewide code list like Ontario. Students need the required courses, enough credits and the provincial graduation assessments.
The pathway question is therefore about course selection, graduation credits, literacy and numeracy assessment readiness, and post-secondary prerequisites. A Grade 12 student may need English Language Arts support, Pre-Calculus support or assessment practice for different reasons.
BC's verified credential is the British Columbia Certificate of Graduation, commonly called the Dogwood Diploma. Government policy states that students must earn at least 80 credits and complete required numeracy and literacy assessments.
The 80 credits include required courses, career education requirements and elective credits. Families should distinguish Dogwood completion from admission requirements for a specific post-secondary program.
Senior course support
We are building the Canadian curriculum tutor roster for this section. Tell us the province, grade and subject and we will match a tutor directly rather than asking you to pick from a list that is not ready yet.
Rates are the same nationwide, by course rather than by province, and shown in Canadian dollars on the main Canada page.
Parent guidance
BC parents often ask why an assignment feels open-ended. The answer is usually that the curriculum is assessing a competency such as communication, reasoning, designing, processing information or reflecting on learning.
The Grade 7 to Grade 8 and Grade 9 to Grade 10 transitions can expose weak independent-study habits. Students may need help planning evidence, drafting explanations and revising work against criteria.
A useful tutoring session should name the big idea, identify the skill being demonstrated and leave the student with a visible next step. That keeps support aligned with the BC curriculum instead of turning it into generic homework help.
Questions
The Foundation Skills Assessment is BC's Grade 4 and Grade 7 literacy and numeracy assessment.
The Dogwood Diploma is the British Columbia Certificate of Graduation awarded after provincial graduation requirements are met.
BC uses graduation program courses and local course names, but the hub focuses on pathway and assessment requirements rather than Ontario-style codes.
Applied Design, Skills and Technologies is the BC curriculum area where design, technology and digital skills often sit.
Yes. BC graduation policy includes provincial numeracy and literacy assessments.
Related Canada hubs
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