Literacy Test (OSSLT) @ Ross

2024 – 2025 Literacy Test @JFR Information

Updated October 2024

  1. All grade 10 students are required to write the OSSLT. Students must complete the literacy requirement to graduate.

  2. All grade 10 students and other eligilble writers will write the OSSLT during period 2 this fall. The JFR testing window is November 5-26.

  3. The newest version of the OSSLT is 100% digital. You will complete all sections online, on a school chrome book, over two separate 75 minute sessions.

  4. Practice materials are available here. They are an excellent preview of the actual test!

Please direct any questions to Ms. Aalbers, head of literacy and Teacher-Librarian at John F. Ross: waalbers@ugcloud.ca

Administration of the OSSLT

Information posted below relates to the pen and paper OSSLT, written prior to 2020. While formatting of the 2024-25 OSSLT remains reflective of the exercises listed below, be advised that the current test is written online. The only long piece of writing now required on the OSSLT is a series of paragraphs. Students read and respond to a news report, but are no longer required to write one. Practice materials for the online version are available here.

Practising for the Test

Thanks to the St. Mary’s High School Student Success Team – Carol DeVrieze, David DiGiuseppe, Karen Drummond, Brandon Haynes and Jamie Rodrigue – for creating many of these materials and allowing us to use their work!

Practice Tests

practice test – booklet 1 – questions and answers
practice test – booklet 2 – questions and answers
practice test – booklet 1 – video feedback
practice test – booklet 2 – video feedback
practice test – booklet 1 – slideshow feedback
practice test – booklet 2 – slideshow feedback

Additional Practice Lessons at John F. Ross

Opinion Essay – link to a Google doc
Short Answer Questions – link to a Google doc
Multiple Choice Questions – link to a Google doc

Remediation Resources

Still More Resources and Tips

Released OSSLT Materials

The following materials are sections of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test that have been released by EQAO to assist students in preparing for the literacy test. They are examples of the actual questions and tasks used in previous years.

Released OSSLT Materials – examples of actual questions from previous test booklets:

  • By Year:  2019   | 2018  |  2017   | 2016   | 2015  

  • 2017

    • 2017 – question booklet

      • Multiple Choice (Content)

      • Short Answer (Content)

      • Multiple Choice (Grammar)

      • Short Answer (Open Response)

      • News Report

      • Multiple Choice (Content)

      • Short Answer (Content)

    • 2017 – blank answer booklet

    • 2017 – multiple choice answers

    • 2017 – scoring rubrics and sample student responses

  • 2016

    • 2016 – question booklet

      • Series of Paragraphs

      • Multiple Choice (Grammar)

      • Multiple Choice (Content)

      • Multiple Choice (Content)

      • Short Answer (Content)

      • Short Answer (Open Response)

      • Multiple Choice (Content) – Reading Redacted Due to Copyright

    • 2016 – blank answer booklet

    • 2016 – multiple choice answers

    • 2016 – scoring rubric and sample student responses

  • 2015

    • 2015 – question booklet

      • Multiple Choice (Content)

      • Short Answer (Content)

      • Multiple Choice (Grammar)

      • Short Answer (Open Response)

      • News Report

      • Multiple Choice (Content)

      • Short Answer (Content)

    • 2015 – blank answer booklet

    • 2015 – multiple choice answers

    • 2015 – scoring rubric and sample student responses

  • 2014

    • 2014 – question booklet

      • Series of Paragraphs

      • Multiple Choice (Grammar)

      • Multiple Choice (Content)

      • Multiple Choice (Content)

      • Short Answer (Content)

      • Short Answer (Open Response)

      • Multiple Choice (Graphic Text)

    • 2014 – blank answer booklet

    • 2014 – multiple choice answers

    • 2014 – scoring rubric and sample student responses

Accommodations and Deferrals

All Students: Extra Time

All students will be provided extra time to complete the test if it is needed.

ESL Students

ESL students write the test when they are ready, usually after they have completed ESL EO.

Students with IEPs

Students with IEPs are routinely provided with accommodations in classrooms, the resource room, and for evaluations, to allow them better access to the curriculum. The list below reflects accommodations that apply for the OSSLT that appear on some IEPs.

Access to computer for written work – The student can use a computer in the classroom or resource room for tasks like tests, exams, and culminating tasks. Computer use would include access to assistive technologies, like text to speech or speech to text, where appropriate.

Allow for frequent breaks – During assessment tasks, students have the opportunity to take a break from the work and go for a short (often supervised) walk, or get up from the desk and stretch. This allows students to refocus on their work.

Extra time to respond (EQAO) – Extra time is defined as double time. If the test is designed to take 1 hour, the accommodated student would have up to 2 hours.

Read all written instructions – Students with poor reading comprehension benefit from having instructions read to them as they write tests, exams or complete culminating tasks. Instructions may be read by a classroom teacher, EA, or resource teacher.

Read all written instructions except for tests of reading (EQAO) – When reading comprehension is being assessed, reading written instructions is not permitted. When other skills are being assessed, such as grammar conventions, writing or mathematics, instructions may be read.

Scribe (EQAO) – A scribe writes down exactly what the student says in response to each question or task. During evaluations, scribes do not prompt or assist the student in any other way. Scribing helps students with strong verbal skills but weak written output to complete tasks and fully demonstrate their thinking.

Access to Kurzweil/Dragon/Word Q/Inspiration/etc for language-heavy assessments – If students make regular use of assistive technology for help with language, the specific programs that they use will be listed on their IEPs.

Exemptions

Only students who are not working towards an Ontario Secondary School Diploma are exempt from writing the test.