Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)
The administration of the OSSLT will take place from Wednesday, November 2, to Wednesday, December 7, 2022, with individual student results reported by end of January 2023. Wednesday, March 1, to Wednesday, April 26, 2023, with individual student results reported by mid-June 2023.
General Instructions 1. Please answer all questions to the best of your ability. 2. If you leave a question blank, the question will be scored zero. 3. The word count for each response will be indicated in the text box provided and will count down as you type. Once the limit is reached, you will have 10 extra words to finish your response. 4. For the writing sections, pay attention to clarity, organization, spelling, grammar and punctuation.
5. Before you submit your completed test, you will have the opportunity to return to any question. 6. As you are writing the test, you can flag questions to remind yourself to come back to them later. 7. Before submitting the test, you will be reminded of any questions that are still flagged or blank, so you can go back to them if needed. 8. You are not permitted to use cell phones, email or text messaging devices during the assessment (exceptions may apply in accordance with EQAO guidelines). 9. You are not permitted to communicate with other students during the assessment.
In the reading component of the test, students use strategies to interact with a variety of reading selections and demonstrate their understanding by responding to multiple-select questions and one open-response question. These reading selections focus on three reading skills: 1.understanding explicitly stated information and ideas 2.understanding implicitly stated information and ideas (making inferences) 3.making connections between information and ideas in a reading selection and personal knowledge and experience (interpreting reading selections by integrating information and ideas in a reading selection and personal knowledge and experience)
In the writing component, students respond tomultiple-select questions and demonstrate their ability to communicate ideas and information clearly and coherently through an opinion essay. The combination of these written and multiple-select questions focuses on three writing skills: 1.developing a main idea with sufficient supporting details 2.organizing information and ideas in a coherent manner 3.using conventions (spelling, grammar, punctuation) in a manner that does not distract from clear communication Since a large-scale assessment does not allow for a complete revision and refinement process, written work on the OSSLT is scored as first-draft (unpolished) writing.
The OSSLT is a computer-based assessment that comprises two sessions (Session A and Session B) containing a total of 33 questions: 31 multiple choice questions (including technologically enhanced multiple select questions e.g. drag and drop, dropdown menu, checklist) and two constructed open-response questions. Each session is designed to be completed in 60 minutes, and students complete each session in one sitting. The sessions can be attempted one after the other, either back-to-back with a short break or on two different dates and times. At the end of the two assessment sessions, students will be presented with a questionnaire that asks them about their attitudes and perceptions with respect to literacy.
● Real-life Narrative (RLN): a passage and seven multiple-choice reading questions. A real life narrative presents an account of a significant time in an individual’s life. ● Information Paragraph (INP): a passage and six multiple-choice reading questions. An informational paragraph presents ideas and information on a topic. ● News Report (NR): a passage, one written response and five multiple-choice reading questions A news report is an objective, factual report about an event. Objective: does not express personal opinions, uses the third person point of view (he, she, it, they) Factual: reports facts, information, statistics, eye witness accounts Event: about something that has recently happened
● Dialogue (DIA): five multiple-choice reading questions related to a dialogue. It is a conversation between 2 or more people. ● Written Multiple-Choice (WMC): eight multiple-choice writing questions. Multiple-choice questions consist of three parts: 1. a stem (which asks a question, poses a problem, or presents an incomplete - sentence) 2. a number of "distracters" or interesting alternatives 3. the correct or best answer Your task is to identify the correct or the best answer from among the given alternatives. ● Series of Paragraphs Expressing an Opinion (OPP): one written response composed of a series of paragraph Be sure to include the following: - an introduction, - supporting body paragraphs - a conclusion, - relevant reasons; examples and facts to support your opinion; a clear explanation of your arguments
Strategies 1. Read! Tips for reading: Read through the entire selection once, including the title and picture (if there is one). Underline or highlight important information and main ideas as you read If you read a word you don’t understand, look for a root word that you know inside the larger word, or look for other clues in the sentence to help figure out the meaning-
2. Re-read and go slowly! FACT: Most mistakes in this section come from reading the passage (or questions) too quickly, so be sure to take the time to re-read if necessary Identify important information 5WH (who, what, where, when, why and sometimes how)
3. Answer! Read through the multiple choice questions and select the best answer, using the “CLUE” strategy C – cross out any answers you are sure to be incorrect L – locate the area of the reading selection the question is asking about U – understand the context of the question E – eliminate any distracting answers
Skills Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and Word Choice Grammar and Eight Parts of Speech Capitalization (use of upper and lower case) Spelling Dialogue Plurals Editing Types of texts: Expository (facts), Descriptive (images), Persuasive (opinion), and Narrative (story) Homonyms (same sound and same spelling), Homophones (same sound) Homographs (same spelling): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_7FR59AKmQ End Punctuation: period, question mark, exclamation mark Internal Punctuation: comma, semi-colon, colon, dash, apostrophe, quotation marks https://punctuationmarks.org/ Sequencing: the order in which they actually happened (1stevent, 2ndevent, 3rdevent) Main and Supporting Details Transitions: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/transitions/ Test Taking (deciphering multiple choice): https://www.dmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/MULTIPLE-CHOICE-TEST-TAKING-STRATEGIES.pdf
SENTENCE TYPES • Declarative—makes a statement: The king is sick. • Interrogative—ask a question: Is the king sick? • Imperative—gives a command: Cure the king. • Exclamatory—provides emphasis or expresses strong emotion: The king is dead! Long live the king!
Long Answer – News Report Reading Passage After reading the news report: A Huge Mural Marks a Graffiti Philosophy in Montreal Example: Explain why Montreal's approach to graffiti is beneficial. Use specific details from the reading selection to support your answer. Type your response in the box below (approximately 100 words). Rubric: The response indicates considerable reading comprehension. The response provides accurate, specific and relevant ideas and information from the reading selection (30 points).
Tips for Writing Clearly and Concisely 1. Use specific, exact vocabulary (the stronger your vocabulary, the easier this will be). The best way to increase your vocabulary? Read, Record, Review, and Use 2. Avoid unnecessary words. 3. Take out extra pronouns. 4. Avoid unnecessary words that don’t add much meaning. Guiding Your Communication What = Topic Sentence So what = This is important because (cut through the clutter) Now what = Concluding Sentence
Checklist 1. _____ 100 words, full and complete 2. _____ The “word count” will be indicated in the text box provided and will count down as you type. Once the limit is reached, you will have 10 extra words to finish your response. 3. _____ Clear topic sentence taken directly from the question (Remove “Explain why”) 4. _____ Reasons for your position (This is because …) Example: Montreal’s approach to graffiti is beneficial. This is because … 5. _____ Provide examples directly from the reading selection (In the text …) 6. _____ End your paragraph with a concluding sentence 7. _____ Punctuation and spelling are correct 8. _____ Capitalization is correct (pay attention to upper- and lower-case usage) 9. _____ Use of transition words (Also, next, …) 10. _____ Sentence structure is correct (sentences must be a complete thought)
Series of Paragraphs Supporting an Opinion Example: Write a response expressing an opinion on the following topic: Do people depend too much on technology? Be sure to include the following: an introduction, supporting body paragraphs and a conclusion, relevant reasons; examples and facts to support your opinion; a clear explanation of your arguments. Type your response in the box below (approximately 500 words). Rubric: The response is related to the assigned prompt. A clear and consistent opinion is developed with sufficient specific supporting details that are thoughtfully chosen. The organization is coherent, demonstrating a thoughtful progression of ideas (60 points + 40 points)
Checklist 1. _____ 500 words, full and complete 2. _____ The “word count” will be indicated in the text box provided and will count down as you type. Once the limit is reached, you will have 10 extra words to finish your response. 3. _____ Five clearly defined paragraphs (indent) 4. _____Three sentence Introduction(approximately 50 words) 5. _____ Sentence 1: Interesting opening sentence 6. _____ Sentence 2: State your opinion – be clear (you must take a side, either forORagainst) 7. _____ Sentence 3: State your three reasons (Think: This is because …) 8. _____Three body paragraphs(each approximately 130 words in length) 9. _____ Sentence 1: Topic sentence stating your reason (from your Introduction) 10. _____ Sentence 2: Provide an example
11. _____ Sentences 3 – 4: Explain how the example supports your opinion 12. _____ Sentence 5: Concluding sentence 13. _____Three sentence Conclusion(approximately 50 words) 14. _____ Sentence 1: Restate your opinion (This essay proves) 15. _____ Sentence 2: Explain overall how you proved your opinion 16. _____ Sentence 3: Call to Action 17. _____ Punctuation and spelling are correct 18. _____ Capitalization is correct (pay attention to upper- and lower-case usage) 19. _____ Use of transition words (Also, next, …) 20. _____ Sentence structure is correct (sentences must be a complete thought)