Grade 11 students to write OSSLT
Test date is Wednesday, November 24
Hello Spartan families, next week all MTS grade 11 students will be taking the computer-based Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) on Wednesday, November 24th. Although, during Covid-19, the literacy requirement has been waived for previous groups of graduating students, the Ministry of Education has not waived the requirement for our current grade 11 students. The OSSLT is currently a graduation requirement.
Literacy Requirement
All graduating students must have the Literacy requirement to graduate with an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). This could be achieved by passing the OSSLT or by successfully taking the Literacy course. If a student is not successful with the test, they will have to either re-write the test or take the Literacy course to earn this graduation requirement.
The Test
The OSSLT is a computer-based assessment that comprises two 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 test will be written immediately on November 24th in homeroom. Some students will be relocated into a grouping to write. Each session is 1 hour in length with a 15-minute break in between.
Preparation
Over the next few days, grade 11 homeroom teachers will be taking 2 periods to prepare grade 11’s for the test on the 18th and the 22nd. This will include a review of the types of questions, criteria for marking, tips for success, and an analysis of an online practice test. Students can also access the online OSSLT practice test on their own. It can be found here.
We encourage students to become familiar with the online test and the platform through EQAO’s online practice test. The online practice test comprises two sessions, which includes content from previous tests. It’s an excellent tool to prepare students for the real test.
Presentation
The OSSLT PowerPoint presentation can be found below. The presentation includes a lot of information that will be shared with students in class.