Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)

1. Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) • Thursday, • March 27th

2. OSSLT • What is Literacy? • Literacy is the ability to read, view, design, speak, • and listen in a way that allows us to communicate • effectively and to make sense of the world.

3. Why is Literacy Important? • Literacy is vital to ensuring that you have the best chance to succeed in school • and in everyday life. • Literacy allows us to make sense of a range of written, visual, and spoken texts, including books, newspapers, magazines, television, signs, maps, conversations, and instructions.

4. OSSLT Graduation Requirement All students must achieve a level 3 (provincial benchmark) on the OSSLT in order to graduate with a high-school diploma. • If you are unsuccessful on either portion of the test, you must re-write the WHOLE test next year. • If you are unsuccessful twice, you must sign up for the Literacy Course in Grade 12.

5. Test Procedure • You MUST be here on the test date – there is NO RETEST. If you miss the test, you will have to write it NEXT YEAR. • You MUST arrive on time. You will NOT be given extra time if you are late – the test ends at the same time for everyone! • Bring a PEN and PENCIL. Do not bring anything else. DO NOT bring your cellphone or any other electronic device.

6. Test Procedure • Booklet 1: 75 minutes. If you finish early, you may read something provided by the teacher. You MAY NOT leave. • Break: 15 minutes. • Booklet 2: 75 minutes. Same as above! • You must do BOTH sections of the test!

7. OSSLT Tasks • Students must successfully complete: • 5 Reading Comprehension tasks and • 5 Writing Compositiontasks.

8. Reading Portion Tasks • Students will be asked to read 5 passages and • complete the following questions: • 1. Multiple-choice questionsabout content and predictions. • 2. Short-answer writing tasksthat ask students to explain and summarize information.

9. Reading Tasks The 5 Reading Selections will include: • Information paragraph: presents ideas and information on a topic. • News report: presents information in the form of a news story. • Dialogue: presents a conversation between two or more people • Real-life narrative:an account of a significant time in an individual's life. • Graphic Text: presents ideas and information with the help of graphic features (pictures, font, page setup, etc.)

10. Writing Portion Tasks • Multiple-choice questions about the writing style of the selected passage: grammar, punctuation, correct word usage, and sentence structure. • Short Writing Tasks: questions from the selected passage. • News Report: write a news report based on a photograph. • Paragraphs: paragraphs responding to selected reading passages. Provide specific support from the passage!

11. Skills Needed for the Writing Portion • Developing a main idea with sufficient supporting details. • Organizing information and ideas in a coherent manner. • Using conventions (spelling, grammar, punctuation) in a manner that does not distract from clear communication.

12. Key Words on the OSSLT • 1. Explain • 2. Summarize • 3. Opinion

13. Difficulties on the OSSLT • Difficulties in reading to understand: • students are asked to summarize information in a specificsection of the booklet, but instead they summarize the entire booklet. • students do not read closely for accurate understanding of details – be aware that all of the answers are IN THE TEXT unless you are asked for your opinion. • students do not use context to interpret information that is not directly stated.

14. Difficulties on the OSSLT • Difficulties in reading for information: • linking relevant information to the mainidea • skimming, scanning and previewing texts • reading contextual cues • Difficulties in reading for style • Students have difficulty identifying grammar errors (e.g. sentence fragments) and discussing the effect of sentence structure, word choice, etc.

15. Difficulties on the OSSLT • Difficulties in writing • Using Standard Canadian English • Do not use slang, colloquial language, or “textspeak” – remember that your audience is an educated adult! • Use precise wording – avoid stuff, thing, kinda, lol, cuz, I, etc. • Using capital letters • Providing evidence/support for ideas • Writing extended responses • develop your ideas and fill up the space provided! • Summarizing information (identifying main ideas)

16. Tips for Success on the OSSLT • Read questions carefully and link relevant information to the main idea. • Answer all questions -- most “wrong” answers are marked “wrong” because they are left blank! • Begin all sentences with a capital letter. • Write in complete sentences. • Use Standard Canadian English. • Use all of the space provided to answer questions – the space provided is a cue for how developed your answer should be! • Write legibly!

17. Tips for effective OSSLT preparation • All Gr. 10 teachers will hold class discussions about the test and the skills you will need to have. Practice! Ask questions! Take it seriously! • If you want extra help, attend the OSSLT help sessions.

18. Good Luck!!