OSSLT

It is a computer-based, linear test of two sessions totalling 37 questions: 35 selected-response questions and two written open-response questions. Selected-response types include single-selection, multiple-selection, drag and drop, drop-down menu and checklist. Students write it in person at school on a digital device, and accommodations are available based on student need.

Session A is designed to be completed in approximately 65 minutes and Session B in approximately 75 minutes, for roughly 140 minutes of testing. Schools decide the schedule and may run the sessions back to back with a break, or on two different dates and times within the administration window, in one continuous supervised sitting.

A statistical procedure called Item Response Theory places each student's outcome on a literacy continuum represented by a scale score between 200 and 400, with a minimum of 300 required for a successful outcome. The score reflects a position on the continuum, not a number of points earned out of 400, so it is not a simple percentage.

Students can take the test starting in Grade 10 and are expected to write it for the first time in their second year of secondary school. EQAO administers it twice each school year, in a fall window and a spring window, and schools schedule sessions during the regular school day within those periods.

If a student has had two opportunities to take the OSSLT and has been unsuccessful at least once, the student is eligible to enrol in the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC). Principals have discretion to allow enrolment in the OSSLC before a second opportunity if they determine it is in the student's best interest, and mature students may enrol directly.

The test targets literacy expectations up to the end of Grade 9, so the reading itself is not advanced. The most common problems are time management across two sessions, thin or unstructured answers on the open-response writing, and unfamiliarity with the online platform. Practising on the platform removes the last risk almost entirely.

EQAO states the OSSLT does not require additional preparation because it is aligned with the curriculum used in class. Still, take the online practice test, which mirrors the two sessions, and review its results page with correct answers, scoring rubrics and sample student responses. Also try the built-in tools such as text-to-speech, zoom, line reader, highlighter and rough notes.

There are four types of reading selections: real-life narrative, information paragraph, news report and dialogue. Writing includes selected-response items and longer open-response answers, including an opinion essay. EQAO publishes an Opinion Essay Scoring Guide covering topic development and conventions, with annotated student samples, which is useful for understanding how written answers are scored.

Individual Student Reports are made available to schools after scoring, and students receive a report from their school to bring home. For the fall administration running November 3 to November 30, 2026, results are reported by the end of January 2027. For the spring administration running March 30 to April 19, 2027, results are reported by the end of May 2027.