Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test - OSSLT

 

The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) measures whether students are meeting the minimum standard for literacy across all subjects up to the end of Grade 9. Successful completion of the literacy test is one of the requirements to earn an Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

The administration of the OSSLT will take place from

  • Tuesday, November 5, 2024 (6:00 a.m. ET) to Tuesday, December 3, 2024 (6:00 p.m. ET), with individual student results reported on or by the end of January 2025.
  • Tuesday, March 18, 2025 (6:00 a.m. ET) to Tuesday, April 15, 2025 (6:00 p.m. ET), with individual student results reported on or by the end of May 2025.

Additional information is available on the EQAO website.  https://www.eqao.com/the-assessments/osslt/

The OSSLT is a computer-based assessment that comprises two 60 minutes sessions (Session A and Session B) containing a total of 33 questions: 31 multiple-select questions (e.g., multiple-choice, drag and drop, drop-down menu, checklist, text selection) and two constructed open-response questions. The OSSLT uses a test let-based linear on-the-fly (tLOFT) design. In this method, test forms are generated in real time through the selection of pre-constructed and pre-equated groups of questions and, where applicable, the associated reading selections.

All students in Grades 10 and 11 and non-graduating students, including those who are learning remotely, must work toward the literacy graduation requirement by participating in the OSSLT or completing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC).

Parents and/or principals may decide it is in a student’s best interest to defer writing the test until a later date. For example, an ESL student may need more time to develop language skills before writing the test.

Students may retake the test the following year. For graduating students, the best option is to take the Grade 12 Literacy Course and receive direct instruction in needed areas while earning an additional credit towards graduation.

To provide maximum flexibility for students to acquire the literacy graduation requirement, particularly for students enrolled in remote learning, students can be enrolled in the OSSLC without having attempted the OSSLT in 2023–2024.

 

Where to write OSSLT

We organize the OSSLT test administration every year for students whose Ontario Student Record (OSR) is held at Toronto eSchool. The test can be written at Toronto eSchool Campus in Toronto. Students may also write the test at an alternative location in our affiliated partners' office outside of Canada. The test must be supervised by a suitable official who satisfies the requirements outlined by EQAO.

The administration fee for writing the OSSLT test at Toronto eSchool campus is $200 per student. The fee for writing the test at an alternative location is $399 per student.

Please contact guidance@torontoeschool.com with any inquiries regarding the OSSLT.