April 9th, 2024

On April 15 & 16 Grade 10 students will be writing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT). Students will be writing the test in their Period A class and will have 150 minutes of writing time should it be needed. Students who were previously eligible, but have not yet written the test, or who were unsuccessful on their first attempt, will also have an opportunity to write that day. Students who have special accommodations may be writing on an alternative date as arranged with an administrator and only in special circumstances. 

It will be a regular school day for those students not writing the OSSLT and any student who is scheduled to write the test has already been notified. 

The purpose of the OSSLT is to determine whether students have acquired the literacy (reading and writing) skills that they are expected to have learned by the end of Grade 9, as outlined in the Ontario curriculum. The OSSLT identifies students who have demonstrated these required literacy skills, as well as those who have not demonstrated these skills and need additional instruction and practice. Successful completion of the OSSLT is one of the 32 requirements of the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).

Should students be absent on one or both of the days that the OSSLT is being administered it is important that they speak to their administrator prior to the day of the test or upon return to make alternative arrangements.

Below are some resources that may be helpful to any students who have questions about the OSSLT or who would like an opportunity to do some additional preparation prior to writing the test.

• Overivew of the OSSLT – This slide deck provides detailed information about the format of the OSSLT. If students have questions about the way the actual test is structured and what types of tasks they will complete, this is a good resource for them to review.
• OSSLT Student Instructions for Kiosk Mode for Students – this short slide deck provides instructions and images that familiarize students with the login process for the Kiosk they will use to complete the OSSLT.
• OSSLT Practice Test via the EQAO Website – This practice test that is available through the EQAO website simulates the OSSLT Kiosk that students will be using to write the test.
• D2L OSSLT Preparation Classroom – if students want some additional practice or resources to review, they can access the WO Classroom via Bright Space (D2L). All of our Gr 10 students are already loaded into the classroom and additional students can/will be added as needed.