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OSSLT overview

OSSLT: OSSLT format, scoring and the OSSLC

Who writes the OSSLT and when, the two online sessions, the 37 scored questions, the 200–400 scale and the 300 standard, how open responses are scored, accommodations and the literacy course route.

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OSSLT format, scoring and the OSSLC · Question 1Score 0/0

What happens to the field-test questions that appear in an OSSLT session?

Study reference: EQAO OSSLT Framework (2025), Ch. 1 The assessment process — What is in the OSSLT, blueprint, scoring and reporting (pp. 5–15)

All 12 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

  1. What happens to the field-test questions that appear in an OSSLT session?

    1. They replace questions a student skipped
    2. They count double toward the score
    3. They are marked only if a student fails
    4. They are tried out but not counted

  2. Which OSSLT reading selection comes with the open-response reading question?

    1. The dialogue
    2. The information paragraph
    3. The news report
    4. The real-life narrative

  3. In which grade do Ontario students usually write the OSSLT for the first time?

    1. Grade 11
    2. Grade 10
    3. Grade 9
    4. Grade 12

  4. Which tool is built into the online OSSLT for every student, not only those with accommodations?

    1. Text-to-speech
    2. A grammar checker
    3. A spell-checker for the essay
    4. A dictionary lookup

  5. How is the OSSLT divided into sessions?

    1. Two sessions of about 65 and 75 minutes
    2. Two sessions of exactly 60 minutes each
    3. Three sessions of about 45 minutes each
    4. One session of about 140 minutes

  6. What scale score does a student need for a successful outcome on the OSSLT?

    1. 400 exactly
    2. 350 or higher
    3. 200 or higher
    4. 300 or higher

  7. How are OSSLT open-response answers scored?

    1. By the student's own English teacher
    2. By the computer using keyword matching
    3. By counting the number of words written
    4. By trained educators using rubrics

  8. Why is an OSSLT scale score of 300 not the same as 75 percent?

    1. The score only counts the two written answers
    2. Every question is worth exactly the same mark
    3. The score accounts for how difficult each question is
    4. The essay is marked out of 300 points by teachers

  9. Who may enrol in the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC) as the regular route?

    1. Only students who are learning English as a second language
    2. Only students who have failed the OSSLT three times
    3. Any Grade 9 student who wants extra help
    4. A student with two OSSLT attempts, one or more unsuccessful

  10. How many questions on the OSSLT count toward a student's result?

    1. 35
    2. 37
    3. 42
    4. 47

  11. How many selected-response reading questions are on the OSSLT?

    1. 23
    2. 24
    3. 35
    4. 12

  12. About what share of the OSSLT raw score comes from the opinion essay?

    1. About 25 percent
    2. About 49 percent
    3. About 10 percent
    4. About 71 percent

OSSLT format, scoring and the OSSLC: key rules to remember

Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗

Definition and purpose

  • For the OSSLT, literacy = the reading and writing skills expected across all subjects of the Ontario curriculum up to the end of Grade 9.
  • Passing the OSSLT (or the OSSLC) is one of the requirements for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).
  • Students first write it in their second year of secondary school (Grade 10); students arriving in Grade 10 from outside Ontario also write it unless the principal defers them.

What is in the OSSLT

  • Computer-based; two sessions, A and B.
  • Session A designed for about 65 minutes; Session B about 75 minutes; each session done in one sitting.
  • Sessions may be back to back with a short break or on two different dates.
  • After both sessions there is a questionnaire about attitudes to literacy (voluntary, not scored).
  • Linear test design: several equivalent fixed-length forms built to the same blueprint.
  • Each form has an operational (scored) part and a field-test part (not scored).
  • Operational part = 37 questions: 35 selected-response + 2 open-response.
  • Selected-response formats: single selection, multiple selection, drag and drop, drop-down menu, checklist.
  • Seven sections across the two sessions.

Questions and points

  • Reading: 23 selected-response + 1 open-response = 24 operational questions.
  • Writing: 12 selected-response + 1 open-response (opinion essay) = 13 operational questions.
  • Field test adds 7 to 9 selected-response and 0 to 1 open-response (7–10 items); they do not count.
  • Raw points: selected-response 55 (71 %), open-response 23 (29 %), total 78.

Blueprint

  • Information paragraph: 6 SR questions = 10 points (≈ 13 %).
  • News report: 5 SR + 1 open-response = 10 points (≈ 13 %).
  • Dialogue: 5 SR = 8 points (≈ 10 %).
  • Real-life narrative: 7 SR = 10 points (≈ 13 %).
  • Reading total 38 points ≈ 49 %.
  • Opinion essay (one long-writing prompt) = 20 points ≈ 25 %.
  • 12 writing SR questions (structuring content, organizing ideas, conventions) = 20 points ≈ 25 %.
  • Writing total 40 points ≈ 51 %.

Scoring and reporting

  • Selected-response questions are machine-scored; open responses are scored by trained educators with rubrics.
  • Reading open response codes: Blank, I (restates prompt, misunderstands, off-topic, illegible), 10 minimal, 20 some (vague), 30 considerable comprehension (accurate, specific, relevant ideas from the selection).
  • Opinion essay is scored twice: topic development (codes 10–60) and conventions (codes 10–40).
  • Conventions code 10 includes a response under 30 words (not counting prompt words).
  • Written work is scored as a first draft; a full revision is not expected.
  • Outcome uses Item Response Theory: responses and question difficulty place the student on a literacy continuum.
  • Individual Student Report: one literacy score; feedback for students not yet successful.

Scale and dates

  • Scale score from 200 to 400; at least 300 = successful outcome.
  • 2026–2027 fall window: Tue Nov 3, 2026 to Mon Nov 30, 2026; results by end of January 2027.
  • Spring window: Tue Mar 30, 2027 to Mon Apr 19, 2027; results by end of May 2027.
  • Last two days of each window reserved for students who missed their date.

Tools, accommodations, alternatives

  • Built-in tools for everyone: zoom, text-to-speech, high contrast, line reader, highlighter, eraser, rough notes.
  • Accommodations based on need (IEP); alternative version with only single-selection and open-response questions; large print and braille on request about three weeks ahead.
  • Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC): open to students who have had two opportunities to write the OSSLT and were unsuccessful at least once; principal may allow earlier entry; mature students may enrol directly.
  • EQAO offers a free online practice test with a results page showing correct answers, rubrics and sample responses.

French counterpart

  • TPCL = Test provincial de compétences linguistiques, written by students in Ontario's French-language schools.
  • Same design: online, two sessions (≈ 65 and ≈ 75 min), 37 questions (35 selected-response, 2 constructed-response), scale 200–400, 300 to succeed.
  • Reading text types in French: récit de vie, paragraphe informatif, nouvelle journalistique, dialogue.
  • Alternative course: CCLESO (Cours de compétences linguistiques des écoles secondaires de l'Ontario).

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