CAEC Prep in Ontario's Get SET (LBS) Programs: A Practitioner's Guide

First, the name: LBS is now Get SET

On November 20, 2025, the Literacy and Basic Skills program was renamed Get SET (Skills, Education and Training). The program is funded by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, and the ministry notes that its web content and EOIS systems are still being updated to the new name. If a learner or referral partner says “LBS,” they mean the same program.

The structure you know has not changed. According to the current service provider guidelines:

• Who delivers it: colleges of applied arts and technology, school boards, and community-based organizations.
• Four cultural streams: Anglophone, Deaf, Francophone, and Indigenous.
• e-Channel: web-based delivery that serves all four streams and all goal paths. Learners can use it on its own or alongside face-to-face programming.
• Five services for every learner: information and referral, assessment, learner plan development, training, and follow-up.
• Cost: no fees are charged to learners for ministry-funded Get SET services.

Where a CAEC learner fits in the OALCF

There is no CAEC goal path. The OALCF has five: employment, apprenticeship, secondary school credit, post-secondary, and independence. Read the guideline definitions closely, because two of them sit near the CAEC without naming it:

• Secondary school credit prepares learners for Ministry of Education credit courses leading to an OSSD. A learner who wants the CAEC instead of credits is not really on this path.
• Post-secondary prepares learners for college or university, “for which high school completion or its equivalency is the normal entrance requirement.”

The CAEC is usually a step toward something else, so the most useful question at intake is “What do you want the CAEC for?” A learner heading to college, an apprenticeship, or a job that asks for Grade 12 points you toward a goal path. The guidelines also say the learner plan should include “any other non-Get SET requirements (certificates, courses, abilities) of the learner’s goal path.” That is a natural home for the CAEC itself.

Reporting is less clear, and the ministry guidelines do not mention the CAEC. AlphaPlus’s CAEC educator site, a practitioner resource rather than ministry guidance, says that because the CAEC is not a goal path option in EOIS-CaMS, you will have to report these learners under employment or apprenticeship. It also makes a point worth keeping in mind: OALCF Milestones and CAEC tests are separate assessment systems, so success on one does not predict success on the other. Because coding affects your performance measures, confirm the approach with your ministry consultant or regional network rather than guessing.

The CAEC in Ontario: what your learners will ask

The TVO Independent Learning Centre (ILC) is the only CAEC provider in Ontario. As of October 2026, its CAEC page and the Ontario government page say:

• Who can write: Ontario residents 18 or older who have lived in Ontario for at least six months and are not currently registered with an Ontario high school. Learners who are 18 must provide a “date of leaving” letter from the last high school they attended (Ontario also accepts proof of homeschooling).
• Fee: $100 covers all five tests. After results arrive for all five, a second attempt at any unsuccessful tests costs another $100. Fees are non-refundable.
• Registration: learners create an account on the CAEC portal, submit two forms of valid government-issued ID, and pay. Testing is computer-based and in person at testing centres, and the tests must be spread over at least two days.
• Help with the fee: Ontario says financial assistance may be available to people on Ontario Works, through their caseworker.

These details change, so have learners confirm on TVO’s page before they pay. Our posts on registration by province, CAEC fees, and financial help in Ontario go into more depth.

CAEC or OSSD? Have the conversation early

Some learners say “CAEC” because it is the only option they have heard of. Before you build a plan around five tests, make sure the learner knows the other routes Ontario lists: finishing the OSSD as a mature student (school boards offer PLAR, which can shorten the path) and the ACE upgrading program at Ontario colleges. Our CAEC vs OSSD comparison lays out the trade-offs, including what learners should ask the college they hope to attend.

Ask every learner about old GED results

Ontario says the CAEC will accept GED subjects a learner already passed in place of the matching CAEC tests until May 2027. The national CAEC Test Administration Guide (s. 4.4) adds the rules behind that: GED recognition counts as PLAR, PLAR can cover at most four of the five tests, and so at least one CAEC test must be written. The guide also says GED results are recognized for at least the first three years of the CAEC and that the GED policy will be re-evaluated before December 2027. Some provinces and territories may not allow candidates to rewrite a CAEC test in a subject where a GED pass was recognized, so learners should check with TVO before booking.

For a learner with two or three old GED passes, this can cut the plan in half. Put “Any GED tests passed? When?” on your intake form now. Our GED to CAEC guide walks learners through the steps.

Building CAEC prep into your five services

Assessment: find the weakest test, not just the level

Your OALCF intake tells you about competencies. It will not tell you how a learner does on a timed, high-school-level reading test or a no-calculator math section. Add a short subject-by-subject check. TVO offers a sample test in each subject, and our free lessons include practice questions you can use as quick diagnostics.

Learner plan: treat the five tests as five projects

Ontario learners pay once for all five tests, but they can schedule them separately. Plan the order. Many learners do well starting with their strongest subject for an early win, then giving math and writing the most weeks. Keep in mind what each test actually asks for:

• Reading: 50 questions in 75 minutes, so stamina and pacing matter as much as comprehension. Start with inference and evaluating arguments.
• Mathematics: Part I is 12 questions in 30 minutes with no calculator. Part II is 30 questions in 90 minutes with a calculator. A formula sheet appears on screen. Mental fluency with fractions and percentages pays off in both.
• Science: 35 questions in 90 minutes, with no calculator. The official outcomes make scientific inquiry skills 60% to 85% of the test, so most of it is reading data and judging investigations rather than recalling facts. Practise variables and experimental design and reading data.
• Social Studies: 40 questions in 90 minutes, with no calculator, on Canadian government, economics, history and geography. Newcomers in particular benefit from levels of government and rights in Canada.

A calculator is allowed only on Math Part II. The Administration Guide (s. 5) also says a dictionary, thesaurus, or translator is not permitted on the Reading, Mathematics, Science, or Social Studies tests under any circumstance. Learners who rely on a translation app should start weaning off it early.

Training: give the Writing test its own block

The Writing test is one persuasive piece in 75 minutes, with no multiple choice. It is scored out of 9, with 3 points each for Position and Support, Voice and Presentation, and Conventions, Mechanics and Syntax. The rubric says points are awarded with consideration for the number of errors relative to the length and complexity of the writing, so a short, error-free piece is not a safe strategy. Teach the rubric directly with our rubric lesson, then practise planning under time and supporting arguments with evidence. Timed drafts every week, scored against the three dimensions, are the best preparation we know.

Checkpoints: set readiness milestones of your own

Your OALCF milestones still need to be done for reporting. For CAEC readiness, add checkpoints that look like the real test: a lesson’s practice set at the end of each topic, then a full timed test for the subject. If your program wants printable full-length tests, our Practice Tests ($24.99) include a full timed test for each subject (Math Part I and Part II are separate tests), with answer keys that explain every answer.

Readiness: book when the score has room to spare

The pass mark is 55% on each test. Because a second attempt costs another $100 and only opens after all five results arrive, encourage learners to book a subject only when they score comfortably above 55% on timed practice two times in a row. Then note the booking date in the learner plan, and use your follow-up contacts to ask how it went.

Your week 1 checklist for a new CAEC learner

1. Ask what the CAEC is for, and pick the goal path from that answer.
2. Ask about old GED passes and note the subjects and years.
3. Talk through CAEC vs OSSD vs ACE, and record the learner’s choice.
4. Check the TVO eligibility rules together: age, six months of residency, and not registered in high school.
5. Run a quick diagnostic in each subject and rank the five tests from strongest to weakest.
6. If the learner receives Ontario Works, suggest they ask their caseworker about help with the fee.
7. Write the five tests into the learner plan with target weeks and a timed-practice checkpoint for each.

Sources

Program and CAEC details in this guide come from these pages, checked in October 2026.

• Employment Ontario Partners’ Gateway: Get SET Service Provider Guidelines
• Government of Ontario: Get SET (Skills, Education and Training) program
• Government of Ontario: Canadian Adult Education Credential
• TVO ILC: Earn the CAEC
• CAEC Test Administration Guide (2026), sections 3.10, 4.4, 5, and Appendices A, B and C
• AlphaPlus: Using OALCF Milestones and Culminating Tasks with CAEC learners