Written By: Ananiya Narmathan & Rachel Lau
It is finally the time to test out your literacy skills, grade 10s and 11s! The OSSLT is a literacy requirement for high school graduation that measures one’s literacy skills. The OSSLT is made up of two sessions, (Session A and Session B) containing a total of 33 questions: 31 multiple-select questions (i.e multiple-choice, drag and drop, drop-down menu, checklist) and two open-response questions. In total, the entire test is out of 400 points, and students need a minimum of 75% (300 points) in order to pass.
This year the OSSLT has been postponed, and the administration will take place from Wednesday, March 23, to Wednesday, May 18, 2022. The test has also been moved to a digital platform where students will be given school computers in order to access the test. Each student will receive their result by the end of June 2022. Ready to prepare for some thrilling assessments? Here are 5 tips that can help you with the upcoming OSSLT!
This link is from the official website of EQAO, try testing your understanding and knowledge! This takes you through both Section A and Section B, posing example questions to you so you can get an idea of what to expect to be on the OSSLT. Just to caution you for this particular site, only once you have completed both sections, you are given your final score.
- Read the Multiple Choice Before the Articles:
As bizarre as it may sound, we highly recommend you to read the multiple choice questions before reading the article. Why? Well, this will help you to understand what is being asked so that when you read the article, you can pick up on those key details, allowing you to be more efficient and be responsible with your time.
3. Be Aware of How You Will Be Marked:
Specifically for session B, we strongly advise you to understand how you will be graded to ensure that you don’t miss critical details. There are different rubrics for the different responses (i.e open response, essay, topic development) which will show you the different codes that you can be categorized under. To take this one step further, search online or complete the online practice test above to take a look at examples that fall under the highest code levels so that you can aim for the best.
4. Take a chance to talk to your English teacher beforehand
The English department has a handful of resources that will allow you to prepare for OSSLT! Don’t miss this opportunity to polish up your skills before the assessment. Your English teachers can give you keywords to keep an eye out for, give you writing tips for the essay component, and give you feedback for areas where you may be lacking.
5. The library
As we all know, the school library has a website. By going to staulibrary.ca, you will be able to discover and explore more resources that can guide you through to prep for OSSLT! Even by reading a couple of books — online or hand-held — you can improve your ability to retain information and increase your reading speed which can come in handy throughout your entire life.
Work Cited:
Barbour, Andy. “Multiple Choice.” Pexels, http://www.pexels.com/photo/a-person-writing-on-white-paper-using-pencil-6684265/. Accessed 06 March 2022.
“Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT).” EQAO, 22 Feb. 2022, http://www.eqao.com/the-assessments/osslt/. Accessed 03 March 2022.
Register, Royal. “4 Tips to Survive the Osslt.” The Royal Register, 9 Mar. 2019, http://www.theroyalregister.org/post/4-tips-to-survive-the-osslt. Accessed 04 March 2022.
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